Secrets that Never Existed
by dark1408
Summary: AUOOC “Hey teme…you gonna just let her go like that? Who knows when you’ll be able to see her again?” Naruto said, and everyone looked at the young Uchiha. SasuSaku
1. Chapter 1: Reflecting

_Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me, belongs to Kishimoto sensei TTATT_

* * *

**Secrets that Never Existed**

She never wanted to remember it, but she did.

Haruno Sakura was clutching a Teen Magazine in her hand and was stomping towards Uzumaki Naruto, her brother-like figure and her best friend. He was chatting away with her childhood friend, Hyuuga Neji and didn't notice her walking till she slammed the magazine on the table.

"UZUMAKI NARUTO! WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?"

Naruto scrambled up from the floor on which he fell from the impact of the magazine banging the table. He carefully scanned the contents on the page before looking nervously at Sakura.

"Er…hehe…it…slipped my…mind?"

Sakura cracked her knuckles and Neji sighed. Here we go again. Luckily for Naruto, Kakashi-sensei came in.

"Yo class! Sorry I'm late, you see there was this lady who…"

"LIAR!"

The class was used to him by now, coming in at least an hour late and giving them lame excuses. Kakashi-sensei was, least to say, touched.

"_They love me so much till they memorize my routine…"_

The class sweat dropped. Kakashi-sensei had a dreamy and sick look on his face and his students sure as hell did NOT want to know why. He chuckled and asked them to quiet down.

"Now, as you all know, we have a new student which I see he hasn't arrive yet, so you midgets are free to do what you want till he does."

Immediately after he said that the girls went into gossip and the guys started groaning. Everyone knew who the new student was. Who wouldn't? Top model, top actor, his name was printed everywhere. He stopped his studies to star in a film that was gonna be out soon, every girl was dying to meet the Konoha Village heart throb.

Sakura was still fuming in her seat. Hyuuga Hinata and Yamanaka Ino, her girlfriends, where careful to keep a safe distance from her. The aura she emitted was deadly, and she glared at every fan boy who looked her way. Yes, Haruno Sakura was very popular _(unfortunately, she said.)_, not only because of her looks, but her smarts as well.

"OH MY GOD HE'S HERE!"

The whole class, well, the girls mainly, went to the window and started screaming and giggling as a teen came out from a limousine at the front gate. Sakura opened the window and started at the boy.

"_Oh my god…must he have that cool atmosphere around him? Puh-lease…"_

Hinata noticed Sakura standing a little too out of the window.

"Sakura it's dangerous to stand at an open window…"

Sakura smiled slightly and turned.

"It's fine Hinata. You worry…"

"Move it bitch!"

A girl, namely Hyoka Kimiko, pushed Sakura out of the way and she could not grasp the window in time. Ino and Hinata's eyes widened.

"SAKURA!"

* * *

Neji and Naruto had came down to the front gates to meet their friend, the new student. Naruto slapped him on the back.

"Heyya Sasuke! Finally, I thought you died on the way or something!"

Sasuke snorted. Onyx eyes and raven haired, Uchiha Sasuke was from a well off family, the Uchiha clan which was successful in the business world.

"As if dope."

Neji chuckled at the dry sense of humor that the Uchiha prodigy had. Naruto grinned widely and continued to slap Sasuke harder on the back. While they were laughing, Neji heard a scream from above.

"_That voice…Sakura?"_

His eyes widened when he looked up to see Sakura falling towards them, mainly Sasuke.

"Uchiha! Heads up!"

* * *

**A/N:** Okaaay… this is my first time writing a story so I guess it's not that good… o reviews are appreciated and I'll try to make the story interesting! This chappie is a lil short, but it'll be longer for the next one. XD

p/s I'm drawing a doujin for this but it's not posted yet. Check out my art at my homepage! XD


	2. Chapter 2: We know

**Secrets That Never Existed**

**Chapter 2: We know**

_Preview of last chappie:_

"_That voice…Sakura?"_

_His eyes widened when he looked up to see Sakura falling towards them, mainly Sasuke._

"_Uchiha! Heads up!"_

* * *

Sasuke looked up just in time to register in his brain that he needed to catch the falling person. He quickly stretched out his hands and caught Sakura, falling down in the process from the impact.

"Sasuke! Sakura!"

Everyone around them was shocked. Hinata and Ino came running up, Neji and Naruto were helping Sasuke and a horrified Sakura. She was sobbing and clutching onto Sasuke's uniform, refusing to let go even when Naruto tried to carry her.

"Sakura, hey! Come on, we need to get you to the infirmary…" Naruto tried to persuade her.

Sakura kept shaking her head and sobbed harder, making Sasuke's uniform damp. Sasuke couldn't get up with Sakura holding onto him, so he just sat there stroking her hair, thinking that this happened before somewhere.

_-Flashback-_

_Sakura was sitting on an old tree outside her house. Even though her mother had scolded her for doing it, she was stubborn and continued to do so. _

"_Hey…is someone up there?"_

_Sakura glanced down to see a boy around her age, staring up at the tree and squinting his eyes to see better. Sakura giggled at his face cause he looked kinda weird._

"_Yeah! Who are you?"_

_The boy frowned. He couldn't see the person up there._

"_I can't see you, can you at least come down?"_

_Sakura sighed. She was just about to jump off when she slipped and pluged towards the ground. _

"_AAAAAAAHHHHHH!"_

_Sakura was horrified, the tree was very high and she would at least break a few bones when she hit the ground. Luckily, the boy she was talking to earlier was below her, and she landed on top of him. _

_When her parents found her later, she was still crying and hugging the boy. He was hugging her and trying to comfort her. The boy, Uchiha Sasuke, became her first friend after that._

_-End Flashback-_

Sasuke chuckled. It was just like that time, except that this time they were in school and she fell out of a…wait, where DID she fell from?

"What happened?" Sasuke looked at Ino and Hinata.

"She fell out of a window…when a fan girl pushed her out of the way. The window was open, so…"

Neji tried to pry Sakura off Sasuke again, managing to and carrying her bridal style. Sasuke stood up and dusted the dirt off his clothes and proceeded to follow the others who were walking towards the infirmary. Sakura was still crying and hugging Neji.

"_She's still afraid of heights huh…" _Sasuke thought as he watched Neji trying to calm her down.

"Sakura…shhh….it's okay now…you're okay…" Neji soothed her like a little child.

"Neji…hic…I-I…" Sakura tried to talk between her hiccups and sobbing.

Naruto, Ino and Hinata had to get back to class as Shizune, the teacher in the infirmary shooed them out. Sasuke wouldn't leave cause he was the one who caught her and needed to be tended to for any injuries, while Neji couldn't leave because Sakura was still clinging onto him.

* * *

_After school dismissal…_

Ino walked into the room to see Sakura sleeping on the bed and Neji holding her hand beside her, while the Uchiha was nowhere to be seen.

"Neji? How is she doing?"

Neji looked up from Sakura and shrugged. "Shizune said she's in shock, and probably won't wake up till later or so."

Ino nodded. She looked around again. "Where's Captain?"

Neji's face became serious. "He's out securing the area. Naruto and Hinata?"

"On a 'date', also checking out the area."

Neji nodded and turned his attention back to the pink haired girl. He would probably have to take her back later, but since she was living alone, maybe she should stay over at the Hyuuga residence today.

* * *

Sakura opened her eyes to see white. She blinked a few times and sat up, looking around.

"Sakura?"

Said girl turned her head to see onyx eyes boring into her emerald ones. She almost screamed if a hand did not cover her mouth.

"Chill Sakura, it's just me." Sasuke was in front of her.

Sakura calmed down and Sasuke lowered his hands. He sat down on a stool beside the bed.

"Where am I?"

"At the Hyuuga residence. Neji's room."

Sakura nodded and looked around, indeed it was. She recognize the room as it was practically her second room. She always sneaked into the Hyuuga residence in the dead of night when she had a nightmare, and Neji would always let her sleep in his bed while he took the couch opposite the bed. (A/N: Neji's room is huge…hehe)

Suddenly she was very aware that the on sitting beside the bed is Uchiha Sasuke, her _former _best friend. She snorted at the thought and turned away, leaving Sasuke confused at her gesture.

"_Man…don't tell me she still hasn't forgive me? Even after 6 years?"_

_-Flashback-_

_10 year old Sakura was skipping her way to the park, where she and Sasuke had agreed to meet. When she reached there however, she saw a few boys talking to Sasuke. They were actually taunting him about Sakura._

"_Oh man Sasuke, never knew you loved the big forehead girl so much!" The boys roared with laugther and Sasuke blushed. He was furious. Sakura was his best friend. _

"_Aww…is lil Sasuke gonna cry? Hey, maybe we should get forehead girl to come here to comfort him!"_

_And they started laughing again. Sasuke at that point was embaressed and furious at the same time. Words slipped out of his mouth before he thought of it._

"_Haruno Sakura is nothing to me! She's just a big forehead freak!"_

CRUNCH

_Sasuke turned to see Sakura having tears on her face. She looked heartbroken and was biting her lips. She turned and ran, not bothering when Sasuke called her name._

_-End Flashback-_

Sasuke sighed and tried to touch her shoulder, but she only flinched back and glared at him. He gulped when he saw her murderous glare and backed away.

"Where's Neji and the others?"

"He's…out getting you dinner…" Sasuke hesitated before answering. Sakura noticed this.

"Why did you hesitate? Is there something you're not telling me_ Uchiha_?"

Sasuke flinched. Ouch. She was already using his last name. He really messed up last time didn't he.

"Sakura I wanna apologize…"

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Apologize? Pfft…"

"Sakura I'm serious. I know you're still angry about that incident 6 years ago, and I'm really sorry. I didn't know what I was saying…"

Sakura glared at him. "Yeah right, and I kissed _Naruto _before."

Sasuke looked at her weirdly. "You did?"

"**Hell NO**! You idiot!" Sakura fumed and was really tempted to hit him.

Sasuke laughed and held up his hand in sign of defeat. This time, Sakura stared at **him **weirdly.

"What?" he asked.

"Uchiha, did you…_laugh_?"

Sasuke stared at her. "Err…yeah?"

Sakura chucked a pillow at him. "Get out! The Sasuke_ I_ knew didn't laugh at my jokes that openly!"

Unfortunately, the pillow missed Sasuke's face and ended up hitting Naruto who just came in the door.

"Saku-WHA!"

Naruto avoided the pillow but knocked his head against the wall beside him. Hinata who was behind him, caught the pillow and freaked out when Naruto stated he could see stars in the air.

"Ohhh maaaan...is that **Pluto**?"

Neji just stepped over him and walked towards Sakura with a bowl of chicken soup.

"Hungry?"

Sakura nodded. "Yeah…thanks."

She drank the soup gratefully as the liquid soothed her dry throat and hunger. After a while, she set it down. The others were already seated and had serious expressions.

"…Guys? Is there something wrong?"

Sasuke stood and grabbed her shoulders. She was startled at the sudden contact and tried to pry his hands off, but Sasuke had a firm grip on her.

"Sakura. We know who you are."

She immediately stopped her actions. "W-what?"

* * *

**A/N:** Yeahhh its a bit longer...again reviews would be appreciated. Hope you people find it interesting... 


	3. Chapter 3: Lies

**Chapter 3: Lies**

_Preview of last chappie:_

_"Sakura. We know who you are."_

_She immediately stopped her actions. "W-what?"

* * *

_

Sakura stared at Sasuke's serious expression and to the others. She looked away and bit her lip.

"I…I don't know what you're talking about."

Sasuke sighed and made her face him. "Haruno Sakura, only granddaughter of the President in the States."

She gasp. How did he know? Wait, he said _'we'_, did that mean…

"Y-you all…all of you…knew this!"

The others nodded, while Sasuke did not move. Sakura was shaking.

"B-but…how? Granpa said…it was a secret…that no one else knew…"

Sasuke let her go and sat down on the stool again, and Neji came to sit beside her.

"Sakura…it's kinda hard to say but,it was never a secret to us, we knew it all along."

Her head shot up. All along? But no one in school knew, or anyone outside neither.

"What do you mean? Who are you guys?"

Ino stood up, noting that Sakura was fearing that they were gonna kill her or kidnap her.

"Sakura it's not that! We're your friends and…"

"My friends wouldn't know this! I didn't tell anyone!"

Naruto just stood silenced for once, not knowing what to say anymore. Hinata was staring at Neji and Sasuke, waiting for them to make a move, say something, _damn it_ _**anything**!_

Ino shut her eyes and sighed. It was more troublesome then she thought. She shook her head. "I'm starting to sound like_ him_ already…"

Naruto took a deep breath, and told her in one sentence how they knew.

"Sakura…wereyourbodyguardsassignedbyyourgrandfathersoweknow."

Sakura blinked. The others sweat dropped. Hinata shook her head, Ino was tempted to bang her head on the wall, Neji growled, and Sasuke, well, didn't do anything. Naruto repeated the sentence again.

"Sakura, we're your bodyguards assigned by your grandfather, so of course we know."

Sakura stuttered as she tried to register what was going on. "Wa-wait a sec...you guys? Seriously?"

They only nodded and did not say anything. Sakura bit her lip until it drew blood, making them alarmed at her reaction.

"S-Sakura?"

She was crying, and it wasn't tears of joy. Neji made a move towards her but she pushed him away, walking towards the door. Ino reached out to her.

"Hey Sakura? Hey…girl, what's wrong?"

Sakura whipped around, eyes flaming with anger and face fixed with a glare.

"What's wrong? WHAT'S **_WRONG_**? HOW CAN YOU EVEN THINK OF ASKING ME THAT?"

They flinched at the tone of her voice and kept quiet. Sakura laughed bitterly.

"3 years of friendship and **now** I find out that you guys are my bodyguards? It's my lucky day right? Now I know you guys made friends with me because you were **ordered** to!"

She slammed the door in Ino's face before anyone could protest.

* * *

Sakura muttered a string of colorful words as she made her way back home.

"Tch…reminds me of that_ bitch_ Ami…"

_-Flashback- _

_10 year old Sakura was sitting on a swing waiting for Sasuke to show up. He said he would be late a few minutes as his brother wanted to talk to him. Suddenly, a shadow loomed over Sakura._

"_Hey fore-Sakura!"_

_She looked up to see Ami, the girl who always picked on her, with a few other girls, staring at her._

"_Come on Sakura, lets play hide and seek! When Sasuke-kun comes, he can be the seeker!"_

_Sakura was confused. Didn't Ami hate her or something? But yet she smiled shyly and nodded. When Sasuke came, he agreed to play and started counting._

_Ami dragged Sakura to the forest and told her to close her eyes while she find a safe place for Sakura to hide. Being the innocent young naïve kid she was, she did as she was told. She regretted it instantly when she felt ropes binding her. _

"_A-Ami…?"_

_Ami just poked her. "You think you're so great huh? Sasuke-kun is mine! With that big forehead of yours, I bet he just pities you! Now that he thinks I'm your friend, he'll probably notice me more!"_

_Sakura's tears welled up in her big green eyes. Ami had used her to get to Sasuke? While she was crying, Ami and her girls had walked off, leaving Sakura alone in the forest. She tried to get out of the ropes but failed, so she just stood there limply, wondering if Sasuke would ever find her._

_After a while she felt the ropes being untied by someone, and she snapped her head up to look into onyx eyes._

"_S-Sasuke?"_

_The boy looked around 14 or 15, with same onyx eyes and raven black hair like Sasuke, except that he tied it in a low ponytail. He threw the ropes aside and pointed to a path that lead to the park. _

"_He's probably still finding you."_

_Sakura nodded and bowed, then took off running to find Sasuke._

_-End Flashback-_

Sakura halted at the park, where memories of her childhood came flooding to her. Neji giving her a piggyback, Sasuke ruffling her hair, exchanging of gifts on their birthdays or valentines, Neji going off to the States, Sasuke comforting her, then finally, Sasuke's insult and departure.

Unconsciously, her tears were streaming down her face again. She wiped it furiously and sat down on the bench. Neji and Sasuke were her childhood friends. Ino, Hinata and Naruto were like siblings to her, when she met them 3 years ago, she never thought it would turn out like this.

"…It was all a **_lie_**…in the end, my position was what got me friends…"

* * *

_Meanwhile…_

Ino rubbed her face where the door had hit her. Hinata was calming Naruto down from chasing Sakura. Neji looked hurt and Sasuke didn't know what to say.

"Guys, calm down. Naruto **shut up**, Itachi and Shisui are out there, so we can rest assure she's protected."

Naruto finally sat down and sulked, but nodded indicating that he heard the order. Ino and Hinata sat on the bed while Sasuke remained standing.

"Alright guys, just give her time to cool her head down, tomorrow I'll go and talk to her about this."

Neji looked doubtful, but he trusted Sasuke. As Captain or Leader for their team, Sasuke was very trustworthy, so they did not object. Ino started crying silently, and they were all startled, except Hinata.

"Ino? Why are you crying?" Naruto was confused, shouldn't the sad one be Sakura?

"B-because…she said…we were only friends with her because it was an order…hic…"

They kept silent. Part of them wanted to object, saying it was not because of the order, but part of them knew it was true. But it was different for Neji and Sasuke as they met her before they even knew they were suppose to be bodyguards. As for Ino, Hinata and Naruto, they were not sure.

Sasuke growled, showing his irritation. The others stared at him.

"Fine, let's get this clear…"

* * *

**A/N: **Another cliffy with a conversation! XD ehem...hehe...hope you guys weren't too disappointed about Sakura's identity. Kinda had a hard time thinking who she should be. Oh yeah, about the magazine (chap1) she was angry because of an article. I sorta cut it out because I didn't want you guys to know it would be Sasuke.

_"Uchiha Sasuke, 16 years old. Top model, will be continuing his studies at Konoha High this fall. He stopped his studies due to acting and modelling projects which required him to travel. Lately..."_

So that's the article Sakura read, and if you guys remember, she hates Sasuke. XD Hope you guys enjoyed this story! And thanks to those who reviewed and pls continue to do so! XD XD


	4. Chapter 4: Understanding

**Secrets that never existed**

**Chapter 4: Understanding**

_Preview of last chappie:_

_Sasuke growled, showing his irritation. The others stared at him._

_"Fine, let's get this clear…"_

**A/N:** The conversation will not be continued because I'm lazy...Just jokin! Its not continued because he just tells them what he's gonna tell her! A bit of that and this bla bla lolz...enjoy!

_italic : thoughts_

**bold : inner self

* * *

**

Sakura sat up on her bed and stared at her alarm clock that went off a few minutes ago. She yawned sleepily and lied back down, not intending to go to school today. She was up half the night, thinking about the things that happened. She was about to doze of when she heard someone knocking on her door. She ignored it for some kid who had no life and continued trying to sleep, until she heard his voice.

"Sakura. I know you're in there."

Sakura bolted awake and went to the bathroom to turn on the water, hoping that he would leave if he thought she was bathing. Lady luck was not on her side that day, and the knocking persisted.

"Haruno Sakura, if you don't open this door I will personally pick it or bang it down."

She bit her lip again, a bad habit when she was nervous. She could open the door, or she could just climb out the window, after all, there was a tree that allowed her to climb down. She decided, but just as she wanted to make a break for the window, the door opened.

"…Morning Sakura."

Uchiha Sasuke was standing at the doorway, wearing his school uniform and carrying his bag. Sakura just stared at him, not knowing whether she wanted to hit him or throw him out.

"_Excuse me_, there was a **reason** why I locked that door."

Sasuke nodded but did not say anything. He sat down on her couch and cocked an eyebrow at her.

"You not ready for school yet?"

Sakura snorted. "As if I look like I'm going. I didn't think I'd need to see you today, I recall wanting to 'avoid' you guys, but I end up seeing you in my house."

Sasuke kept quiet, but he was frowning. "I came here today to explain about the events happening now."

"Get out."

Sasuke blinked. "Wha…?"

Sakura was pushing him off the couch towards the door. "I don't wanna hear anymore. Just get out!"

Sasuke stood at the doorway holding the door. "Sakura please! You need to know…"

"No I don't! Now if you would just leave me…"

"5 minutes! Just give me 5 minutes to explain everything!"

She hesitated. Sasuke had stuck his foot between the door and the wall, making it impossible for her to shut the door. She sighed.

"Fine. 5 minutes, starting now."

"Look, I know it's a lot to absorb right now, especially when you just found out that your close friends are your bodyguards, but believe me, we didn't want it to turn out like this."

Sakura looked down. She felt guilty shouting at them yesterday, but she was so upset to find out the truth.

"So…my friends really was because of my position…" she muttered softly, but loud enough for him to hear.

Sasuke growled. This girl was too sensitive for her own good. "No Sakura. The first time Hinata and Ino came, they didn't know who you were, hell, they didn't even know how you look like! Your grandfather did not give us a picture of you, so apart from Neji and myself, no one knew how you look like."

"Then…how?"

"Remember the first time you met Hinata? I heard from her that everyone was looking at her weirdly because of her eyes, and you were the first one that offered to show her around. Ino wasn't there at that time because she was securing the area. Hinata and Ino really like you Sakura, not because you're the girl they were assigned to protect, but because you were there for them when no one else was."

Sakura was shocked. Thinking back on all the things she had said about them made her feel worse. She suddenly felt very sick. But Sasuke wasn't finish yet.

"And there was Naruto, of course, being the dobe he was, he didn't figure it out until later that you were the girl they were suppose to protect, but when they found out, they were really happy."

Sasuke stood there silently as her tears slid down her cheeks. She was crying again, but at least she wasn't angry this time. Sasuke reached out his hand to touch her shoulder, and she didn't flinch away from his touch.

* * *

_At school…_

"Sasuke's not here yet…"

Neji glanced over to his cousin, she was fidgeting again, a habit that she threw away a long time ago.

"Hinata, take it easy, he's probably with Sakura right now."

Ino was looking outside the window quietly, and Naruto found the floor interesting and continued to look at it. They were in an empty classroom, courtesy of Kakashi-sensei as he sense something wrong and requested them to come here. Ino sighed.

"Do you think she'll forgive us?" She asked out of the blue. The others kept quiet, not knowing how to answer. As Naruto was about to open his mouth, the door slide open.

"Sasuke!"

All heads turned to see Sasuke standing at the door, smirking at them.

"Why the long faces?"

Neji glared. "So how did it go?"

Sasuke shrugged and sat down. "She said she needed time to think, so I left her alone."

"So…you told her everything?" Hinata questioned.

He nodded and told them what he had said. Naruto was bouncing up and down on his seat by the time Sasuke was done and Neji was tempted to tie him down. Hinata was giggling and Ino was banging her head on the table. Sasuke shook his head at the behavior of his team. After a while, the door slide opened again, and a silver haired man poked his head into the room.

"Sasuke? Tsunade-sama wants you and your team in the office. Now."

Sasuke nodded and signaled for them to follow. Kakashi smiled under his mask and went back to class.

* * *

Sakura hugged her pillow as she sat in front of the television. She was confused. Should she believe Sasuke's words? She remembered the expressions on her friends face yesterday, and felt bad about the outburst she had.

_Maybe I should apologize…_

**What? You serious?**

_Huh? Where have you been?_

**Ever heard of Hawaii?**

Sakura sweat dropped_. First sign of going crazy, talking to yourself._

**What? Hey I'm trying to help you here!?**

Sakura sighed and turned off the television. Her inner self was ranting about how she should just beat the shit out of Sasuke and her other friends. She dragged herself up to her room to rest as it was already midnight.

_Tomorrow…I'll think of something…

* * *

__Earlier, at school…_

Sasuke knocked on the door that had the sign 'Principal's Office' and went in when he heard someone said 'enter'. A woman with short black hair was sitting at the information desk.

"Oh Sasuke, Tsunade-sama wants you guys in now, she doesn't seem happy though."

Sasuke nodded but the others gulped. Heaven knows what Tsunade would do when she was mad. They proceeded to her office anyhow. She was sitting there, with sake in her hands and a pile of paperwork in front of her.

"ANBUs, sit."

So they sat and waited for her to push aside her paperwork, take out the necessary files, kicked Ton Ton out, and finally, faced them.

"Alright. As I heard from Shino, you have told Sakura who you were correct?"

They nodded and she sighed.

"Did I not tell you that this was suppose to be undercover?" Her tone was not angry, but soft and a hint of sadness.

"W-We couldn't lie to her Tsunade-sama…we're sorry." Ino said, while looking at the floor.

"Tsunade-sama it was my idea to tell her, so if you want to punish them, it would be…" Neji couldn't continue as she cut him off.

"No. I'm not going to punish any of you, it was the best thing to do, telling her this."

"Why? Is it because…" Naruto had a serious glint in his eyes.

Tsunade nodded. Hinata and Ino gasp, while the boys stared at her.

"B-but baa chan! He was in a secured prison!" Naruto managed to stuttered out.

"Shinobi arts? Did he use them to escape!?" Sasuke's eyes started to bleed red.

Tsunade did not say anything, but threw them each a folder.

"Inside it are your mission details, though you all should know that it involves Sakura. We suspect that he's going after her for power, you know, as her grandfather is President, he might use her as hostage to get what he wants." Tsunade said as she started to pile up some paper on her desk.

"Are we allowed to tell her this?" Sasuke asked.

Tsunade hesitated. "…Do whatever you think is right. I'm counting on you guys, don't let us down. That is a reason why Sakura was enrolled in this particular school, understood?"

"Yes Tsunade-sama!"

Tsunade smiled, then kicked all of them out of the office. "Now get out and get going! I have work to do!"

Naruto rubbed his butt after he got up. "Stupid old hag…"

An empty sake bottle was hurled through the air and hit the bullseye, which was Naruto's head. Ino, Sasuke and Neji snickered and Hinata once again freaked out.

* * *

**A/N: **Okay I updated!!! XD I'll update it weekly after this, probably every Saturday. I guess some of you weren't expecting Sakura to be the President's granddaugther ne?

Any thoughts about it? nyaa...if you could pls leave a review about it!! Would love to know what you guys think!! And thanks to those who reviewed!! Though I'm not sure if you received my reply...next time I'll reply by typing it here at the bottom! Thanks again!

Oh btw, do you guys prefer SasuSaku or NejiSaku? review about this thanks! I'll cut this msg off when I continue the next chapter... XD


	5. Chapter 5: Forgiving

_Thanks to those who reviewed!!_

**Merridaine:** hehe…yep, comfirmed SasuSaku!!

**Smileforme x3:** lolz, you'll find out in here!!! XD

**Seguha:** okay! SasuSaku then!

**Sakura angel 4eva:** yup! I think Neji should be a brotherly figure, since he has a girlfriend…ehehehe…

**Rainingblood666:** lolz, actually it would be hard to change it to NejiSaku, I just wanted to know what people think…hehe…

**It'sher:** I'm updating weekly now check back every week between Friday night and Saturday night, or maybe earlier. XD

**SDJ:** LOLZ...why does Neji have a stick up his ass? O.o

**LunarRose73:** hehehe...actually the idea is something like that...mwahahaah...looks like u can read my mind!! XD XD

**Cunning Angel:** Izzit really obvious? O.O

**Yukibozu:** heheh…okay!

**MistressBlossom: **will do! every week! XD

* * *

**Chapter 5: Forgiving**

Sasuke was sitting at his desk staring out the window, he was deep in thought about his mission and _him_.

"_That bastard…he escaped using Shinobi arts!? Tch…this isn't gonna be an easy battle…Argh…have to train more, and get the others to prepare…"_

While he was thinking about all this, he didn't notice a pink haired girl standing beside him. She stood there for about five minutes waiting for him to notice her.

"_Geez, and he calls himself my** bodyguard**…"_

She waved her hand in front of his face, but still no respond. His eyes were screwed shut and his expression set to a frown. She sighed and wondered what she should do to make him snap out of it. She was just about to take out her history book (A/N: Which is the thickest book of all classes XD) when Neji came in.

"Sakura?"

She jumped at the mention of her name and dropped her book on Sasuke's head, hard. He winced at the impact and almost cried out.

"DAMN IT! Who the HELL…! …Sakura?"

She smiled sheepishly and took her book from him, and Neji was trying not to laugh behind her.

"Sorry, you didn't respond although I was standing beside you for a whole five minutes, so I thought I'd wake you up…"

Sasuke blinked. Five minutes? He was really that deep into thoughts huh? He scratched the back of his head and laughed nervously. Neji smirked and shook his head.

"So_ Captain_ was off guard?" Neji snickered.

Sasuke glared at him and looked back at Sakura. "So…do you…do you forgive us?"

She found herself being stared at the two boys. Truthfully, she couldn't stand not talking to Neji or Ino and Hinata, or even Naruto for that matter. No matter how much she wanted to hate them, she couldn't, because they were her close friends. She sighed and mocked glare.

"Weeeelllll…I _guess_ I could forgive you…" Sakura dragged her words and the boys held their breaths. "Buuuuuttt…."

Sasuke and Neji leaned closer to listen as her voice had dropped and they had to strain their ears to listen. She grinned and jump all of a sudden.

"You guys have to give me piggyback rides!!!"

The boys groaned. It was just like when they were younger. They did something to make her mad, she shouts and practically **kills** them, then asks for a piggyback ride. Sasuke and Neji sighed. It was better then her staying mad at them.

"Fine fine…you win, as usual…" Sasuke said as Neji went to sulk in a corner. (A/N: OOC ne? p)

Sakura jumped up and down, giggling like a little girl. When she stopped and look around though, she saw Ino, Hinata, Naruto and Kakashi staring at them. It was still early, and school wasn't starting for another hour. Kakashi coughed.

"Are we missing something here?"

Sakura blushed but said nothing, thinking that Kakashi was only the teacher and didn't know anything, until Neji spoke.

"No Kakashi-sensei. We were just about to tell her the mission details. I assumed you heard from Hokage-sama?"

Kakashi grinned under his mask and ruffled Sakura's head. "Indeed. Now Sakura, you should have the right to know that I'm the one who taught Sasuke and Naruto. Sorry I couldn't tell you earlier, Hokage-sama's order."

Sakura smiled and shook her head. "It's alright. I understand now."

As soon as she said that the two blonds jumped on her. "OH MY GOD SAKURA!!!!"

Sakura was on the floor flat on her back with them on her, Naruto and Ino were hugging her to death. Sakura's face was turning green from lack of air and Neji had to pull them off her. She coughed and backed away from them, hiding behind Hinata. Hinata giggled at the sight before her. Sasuke and Neji were restraining Ino and Naruto from jumping on Sakura again, and Kakashi, well he was reading his Icha Icha Paradise…again.

"So…who's the Hokage-sama?" Sakura asked Hinata who had stop giggling and turned to her.

"Well, em…you'll meet her soon, I think." Hinata smiled.

"Ne Sakura! You won't wanna meet her, she's an old hag!" Naruto grinned brightly while trying to push Sasuke away. Neji and Ino had stopped a while ago, watching Sasuke restrain Naruto was much more fun then doing it themselves. Finally, Sasuke pushed Naruto down on the ground and sat on him.

"Finally…shut up dobe." Sasuke sighed and hit him on the head. He checked his watch, seeing it was at least half and hour till school starts.

"Alright Sakura, you want to know all that's happening right? I think I wasn't done that day was I?"

He paused to see Sakura nod and continued.

"Alright well, we'll be meeting our other team members in HQ later, so I thought it would be better to just bring you there to clear everything up, that fine with you?"

Sakura nodded and smiled at them, Ino jumped at her again, laughing and crying at the same time.

"Argh…Ino-pig stop being so emotional!" Ino stood up and poked her forehead.

"Whatdaya mean emotional!? You had that outburst yesterday! It left me so worried that you would never forgive us!" Hinata hugged Sakura as Ino continued rambling about the things she was worried about, until the bell rang. Kakashi disappeared in a 'poof' and the others went to their seats, awaiting the end of the day.

* * *

A dark shadow lurked in the corner of a room, he pushed his glasses up and smirked. 

"_So this is where she studies…interesting. Seems that the ANBUs are with her…"_

He opened a drawer containing students profile and searched for a specific name. Uchiha Sasuke.

_Uchiha Sasuke, 16 years old. Top model under the famous Jiraiya and partner Tsunade. Coworkers are Hyuuga Neji, Uzumaki Naruto, Yamanaka Ino and Sabaku no Gaara. _

_Uchiha Sasuke started school during the falls after his modeling projects which Jiraiya had him travel overseas. Was put in Class 2 which is the top class for his excel in the exams he sat before coming to this school. _

_Lives with his brother, Uchiha Itachi, who is the basketball coach. His parents are overseas for work while his cousin, Uchiha Shisui, is the one who takes care of him when Itachi is not around._

The figure smirked again as he put the folder back. _"So half the ANBUs are here eh? It would be entertaining…I better report back."

* * *

_

Sasuke had an uneasy feeling that they were being watched, but couldn't be sure of it as he didn't sense anything apart from that. School had ended a few minutes ago, and he was beside Sakura's locker, waiting for her to come. The last class he had today was basketball training, which Sakura didn't have, it was the only class they didn't have together.

"Sasuke! Sorry I'm late, Anko-sensei wanted me to clear the things before I could go…Sasuke?"

He was looking around again, this time sure that someone was indeed watching them. Then he saw it, a figure with silver hair and wearing glasses. His eyes widened at the sight of him. _"No way…how can he be here!?"_

He grabbed Sakura's hand and ran through the halls, trying to find Neji or Hinata. He spotted Neji talking to Kakashi and almost ram into him.

"Neji! Scan the area now! I thought I saw Kabuto!"

Neji nodded and quickly activated his bloodline limit. _"Byakugan!"_

He looked around the class, then the garden and halls. He saw someone running out of the gates and disappeared. "Damn. Lost him, I think he went back to report to _him_."

Kakashi was holding Sakura as Sasuke intended to run out to chase Kabuto, but Neji stopped him. "Sasuke, our first priority is Sakura, don't go on a wild goose chase when we don't even know where their base is."

Sasuke cursed but knew that Neji was right, if anything happened to Sakura, Tsunade would have his head. He turned to Kakashi. "Alright, lets go now. Where are the others?"

"They went ahead already, they said that Shikamaru had some info that Hinata requested." Kakashi said as he led Sakura to the janitor closet.

"Er…Sensei? Why are we going to the janitor's closet?" she asked as Kakashi opened the door. He smiled under his mask.

"Well Sakura, there's always a reason right? So go on in to find out." Neji went in first and Sasuke stood outside, watching if anyone was around. She shrugged and went in, only to find herself in a lift. Neji was beside her and he smirked at her astonish face.

"Wha...a lift in the janitor's closet?" (**A/N:** Imagine…a **lift**…I'm _crapping_ here…p)

Sasuke came in next and Kakashi closed the door behind him, leaving Sakura with the two boys. "Isn't Kakashi-sensei coming too?" she asked as Sasuke pushed a few buttons.

"Kakashi is going to see the Hokage-sama to inform her about the meeting later." Neji said, as the lift began moving.

"The Hokage isn't gonna be happy though, Kakashi's message would probably take an _hour _or so to reach." Sasuke rolled his eyes.

Sakura laughed. It was so like Kakashi-sensei to be like that, but for meetings? It was a wonder why he wasn't already fired.

* * *

Ino was sitting in front of the computer in the lab. A boy with black hair that was tied up and looked like a pineapple was beside her. 

"Found anything yet Ino?"

Ino shook her head. "Come on genius, you should be the one doing this! I'm not a computer genius here!"

The boy sighed. "Troublesome. Alright, move to the other seat and tell me what you're looking for."

Ino whacked the boy on his head. "Shikamaru! Enough with the troublesome already! Now, give me some details on Kabuto and Orochimaru!"

Shikamaru rubbed his head and sighed. Woman were so troublesome, especially Ino, but that's why he liked her…

He began typing and scanning some files for the things she asked for. Hinata had left with Naruto to see what Asuma had digged up at the prison.

"Okaay…Orochimaru…"

_Orochimaru, trained under the Sandaime Hokage Sarutobi. His classmates were Tsunade (the current Hokage) and Jiraiya. He was exiled for his attempts on forbidden Shinobi arts (kinjitsu). He was later caught by the Yondaime Hokage and sentence to prison for life._

"That's all?" Ino asked after she finish reading. Shikamaru nodded.

"Apparently, they didn't see the need to keep so much info on a criminal like him. As for Kabuto…"

_Kabuto, who he trained under is unknown, he was a spy for the Sound under Orochimaru. He infiltrated the Konoha HQ during the Chunnin exams and intended to capture Uchiha Sasuke, who at that time was under Hatake Kakashi together with Uzumaki Naruto. His whereabouts are currently unknown, even during the capture of Orochimaru. _

"Seems like Kabuto was the one responsible for Orochimaru's escape…" Shikamaru muttered as Ino printed the information out.

"But if they were after Sakura, wouldn't they have made a move by now?"

"They already have." Ino turned to see Sasuke walking in with Neji and Sakura.

"We saw Kabuto and I suppose he was watching us." Neji sat down and motioned for Sakura to do so too. Sasuke took the papers from Ino and scanned through it. He frowned.

"That's all the information they have?" He asked as he passed it to Neji. Shikamaru continued typing.

"I'm sure they have more, but they might be in the archives, I'll need the Hokage's permission to look into it."

Sasuke nodded. "I'll get it for you later when she comes."

Sakura was looking through the papers, and she cringed at Orochimaru's picture. his face was pale white and he looked like he had too much make up. (**A/N:** No offense Orochi fans! )

"So…" she began, as she put the papers aside. "Who's the Hokage?"

Sasuke opened his mouth to respond, but someone cut in.

"I believe that would be me Sakura."

Sakura turned and gasp. "N-no way!"

* * *

**A/N:** Mwahaha….I guess it ain't really a cliffhanger ne? I'm sure you all know who the Hokage is anyways, I already revealed it. XD 

I stopped cause I don't know what will happen next…hmm…any ideas? Or any suggestion on what should happen? Pls review for it!

_Preview for next chappie (roughly what's in my head now)_

_Neji was sitting opposite Sakura with a numb look on his face, Ino, Naruto, Shikamaru, Hinata and Kakashi were beside her, all having the same expression. Sakura was confused._

"_H-hey…where's Sasuke-kun!?"_

_Everyone looked away. Avoiding eye contact with her, until Neji spoke, voice full of regret._

"_Sakura…he's gone…" he choked out._


	6. Chapter 6: Trust

_Thanks to those who reviewed!_

**Cunning Angel: **w00t...its more or less something like that...XD Wait n see ne?

**SDJ:** I replied d ne? He's gone...mwhahaahha!! (gets bash)

**Naruto8ramen: **updated! Hope u enjoy! XD

**seguha: **XD thank you!!

**Sakura Angel 4eva: **Yes he dies!!!! (gets killed by Sasuke-fans)

**yukibozu: **yeshu! its updated! XD XD

_A/N: I think I replied to some of the reviews already though...XD well I still wrote it here! XD_

* * *

**Chapter 6 : Trust**

The principal of Konoha High was standing at the doorway with Kakashi, she was holding a folder and looking at Sakura.

"Yes Sakura, I'm the Hokage or also known as, leader of Konoha HQ and of course, the ANBUs."

Sakura was still staring at her until Kakashi tapped her shoulder.

"Sakura? You okay?" Sakura numbly nodded, but still stared at Tsunade. And then she spoke.

"I can't understand…all the time I was here, you guys were so close to me!" she exclaimed.

Tsunade nodded. "Yes. But it was under my orders that none of them could reveal it to you. It would only made you frightened to know that some people are out to kill you."

Sakura nodded and glanced around. Sasuke was leaning against the wall with his eyes closed, Neji was still at the same couch sitting, Ino and Shikamaru were at the computer table, Naruto was grinning beside Kakashi while Hinata was beside Tsunade. Hinata and Naruto had came in with Tsunade and Kakashi.

Tsunade held up the folder she was holding, and took out a few papers.

"Now then, shall we get down to business?"

* * *

Sakura was at her locker, waiting for at least one of the ANBU member. She was told, more like ordered by Tsunade to have at least one ANBU with her throughout the day, and today's lucky ANBU will be…

"Sakura." She turned to face a teen with onyx eyes and spiky raven hair. He was wearing the normal attire of the Uchiha shirt and a black baggy pants.

"Sasuke." She only acknowledged him, no more, no less. Sakura was still on no talking terms with the Uchiha, exception to yesterday when she told him and Neji that she forgave them. Yes, she forgave them for not telling her about them being bodyguards, but she still couldn't forgive Sasuke.

"Sakura…I'm sorry about the incident 6 years ago, I **apologized**, is it not enough?" he said, raking a hand through his messy hair and sighing.

She looked at him and scoffed. "As_ if_ it would Uchiha."

He stared at her. This was not going well, if she could not trust him, how can he protect her?

"Sakura, if you don't trust me, I can't protect you properly. I'm really sorry, I know its hard to forgive me and that I somehow betrayed your trust, but please…give me a chance to prove that its different now." (**A/N**: so OOC…………)

Sakura was silent, she knew that Sasuke was sincere about his apology, and that she should forgive him, but somewhere inside her, she was afraid. Afraid that he would do the same thing again, to betray her trust like the last time. And yet she knew somehow, that this time, it would be different.

"Alright Sasuke, I'll give you a chance. Prove it to me." Sakura said, turning to face Sasuke. He smiled softly, making her smile back.

_'It will be different this time…I know it, and I'll trust you to prove it to me, Uchiha Sasuke.'_

* * *

Neji and Naruto were walking towards the front gate, where Hinata and Sakura were waiting. It was after school hours and Sasuke was with Kakashi, sorting some strategies for 'what if's. Naruto grinned brightly when his girlfriend came into view.

"Hinata-chan! Sakura!" he waved and shouted. Neji rolled his eyes at his friend's childish antics and proceeded to the girls.

"Sakura, you know that you'll be staying at the Hyuuga residence from today right?" he asked when she stood beside him. She nodded and smiled.

"Yeah, I know. Sasuke told me." Neji smiled and ruffled her hair, like an older brother would do. She playfully slapped his hand away and looked towards Hinata and Naruto, who were talking and blushing. She grinned at the scene, and then she felt a tap on her shoulder. Sasuke was standing behind her.

"Wanna go for a walk or something?" he asked her. 'Same old Sasuke.' She thought as she read between the lines. _Wanna catch up on the years we've missed?_ It was always indirectly said in his sentence, but she nodded anyways. Neji waved and told Sakura to be back before dinner, and Sasuke 'Hn' at this.

"So…Sasuke…" she began once they were away from the others. They were at a park, a distance away from Konoha High. He looked at her, indicating that he was listening.

"How do you do it?" she asked, looking back at him. He raised an eyebrow. "Do what?"

She twirled a lock of hair. "You know, being top model, actor, my bodyguard, and still go to school? Are you some kind of _super creature_?"

Sasuke frowned at her. "Sakura, firstly, I'm **human**. Second, being top model and actor, is part of covering up on how I travel to train." Sakura cocked her head to one side.

"Huh? Does that mean you're not an actor or model?" Sasuke chuckled.

"No, I **am** an actor and model, but if you didn't notice, I'm under Jiraiya, whose partner is Tsunade. Meaning, I travel to train."

"I don't get it."

"Just look at it this way, me being top model and actor is all for a cover up. I go overseas to train, Jiraiya takes pictures of me, films me while I'm training, and sends it off to a company then I became famous like that." (**A/N**: I wish being famous was as easy as that. TTATT)

Sakura sighed. Her head was getting dizzy from all the things he said, but at least she understood a little more about him.

"So if you train…why'd you have to come to school anyways?"

Sasuke sighed. This girl was really dense wasn't she? "I come to school to _protect_ **you**, Ms Sakura. Plus I didn't finish high school, although I dare say my qualifications are beyond college."

Sakura huffed and crossed her arms. Sasuke smirked and leaned back against the bench where they had sat down while talking. Then a question came to Sakura.

"Hey, if there are people hunting me for a while now, why haven't they caught me or something while you guys weren't here to protect me?"

Sasuke looked at her weirdly. "Because."

"Because?"

He smirked. "Yeah, because."

She sighed in frustration and stood up, poking his chest. "Uchiha Sasuke I demand you tell me now!"

Sasuke chuckled and caught her hand, he stood up and ruffled her hair, making her pout. "You'll find out one of these days."

Sakura grinned and walked beside him, smiling the whole way back to the Hyuuga residence.

* * *

Sakura yawned and stared sleepily at the board where Kakashi was writing some kind of formula. She had been up late doing her forgotten homework, as she was talking with the others the whole day. Sasuke sweat dropped at her antics and continued taking notes, Kakashi would kill him if he didn't hand in his work. After a while though, Sakura's head fell on the desk and stayed there. Sasuke sighed, she was asleep judging by her slow breaths. Kakashi cocked an eyebrow but said nothing, other students didn't notice her sleeping, so he might as well just pretend he didn't see it too. He explained about the math formula he wrote and asked them to hand in their work by the next class, and the bell rang. Sasuke gathered up his things, and turned to see Sakura still sleeping. He poked her with a pencil.

"Sakura? Hey…its lunch time. Wake up." Sakura groaned and swapped the pencil away. She lifted her head and blinked, and blinked again.

"Wha…class ended already?" she asked him groggily. He nodded and she sighed.

"Great, I didn't copy the notes." She grumbled as she packed her things, then some papers were (almost) shoved into her face. She almost fell back from shock and looked up to see the culprit.

"Here. The notes." He said simply. Her anger diminished as soon as it came, and she happily accepted it with a thank you. Neji and Naruto were outside the class waiting for them.

"Ino and Hinata are at the cafeteria already, saying that it would be hard to find places to sit." Neji said as they walked.

Naruto grinned brightly and placed both his arms at the back of his head. "Why don't we go to the rooftop then?"

Sasuke nodded and Sakura agreed. So Naruto went to find the girls while Neji, Sakura and Sasuke went ahead.

"Sakura, you okay? You look dead, literally." Neji asked as they were walking across the school grounds.

"I'm fi-" before she could complete the sentence, a kunai flew pass her face and embedded itself into the wall beside her. She stared wide eye at it.

"Holy shit…what was…" she wasn't able to complete her sentence again, as Sasuke pulled her to run. Neji stayed where he was, Byakugan activated and scanning the area, but he had his hand on his weapon pouch.

Sasuke pulled Sakura behind a door and faced her. "Sakura, stay here. Don't come out till I come and get you, understand?"

She numbly nodded and did not utter a word when Sasuke closed the door. It was then she realize that she was in the janitors closet, and he had placed her in the life that was headed to the HQ.

* * *

Neji was panting now, he had been dodging all the kunai for a while, and his Byakugan was still activated. But he was thankful they weren't using guns, as it would attract attention and harder to dodge. Sasuke still wasn't here after he sent Sakura to the HQ.

_'Damn it…I can't find the source of this damn trap!'_ he thought as he continued to dodge the barrage of incoming kunai.

He landed swiftly on the ground and stood up straight, seeing if he could detect the source, he turned left when he saw another barrage of kunai and was about to jump, when from behind him, a barrage of weapons countered those that were coming towards him.

"Neji, don't waste your breath dodging those." A girl with her hair in two buns and chocolate hair was standing behind him, a long scroll in her hands.

"They've studied your Byakugan thoroughly it seems…" she said, as she took out another scroll and a gun. She bit the scroll and loaded her gun, which had a silencer on it to avoid unwanted attention. Neji smirked and moved out of her way, making mental note to thank the guys who were attacking them for letting the girl test out her new skill.

_'Combination of Shinobi arts and modern weapon huh, she never was able to test it out.'_ Were his thoughs as he watched the girl dash forward.

The girl made a quick dash and stopped in front of a big tree, pointing her gun at something, she shot. A scream was heard but was silence by the grab of his face and throwing him towards Neji, who caught the person. She jumped up and unrolled the scroll, and a barrage of shuriken came out, slicing some leaves and more screams were heard. She pointed her gun at the ground and started shooting expertly, and then plunged her scroll into the earth. In a few minutes, a few dead bodies were lying on the ground, bruised and cut up badly, except for the first guy that she threw towards Neji. Neji had pinned him to the wall and stuffed a cloth into his mouth. The girl smirked, placed her gun back into her holster and proceeded to Neji.

"So, did you get anything out of him?" she asked, while rolling her scroll back up. He shook his head.

"Tenten, You shot his leg, if I didn't stuff that cloth into his mouth, he would be screaming right now." She giggled and knocked him unconscious.

"Well, we'll see what Tsunade-sama has in store for him then." He nodded and heaved the person on his shoulders like a potato sack and proceeded to the janitors closet. Everyone should be in class by now, as the bell had rang ten minutes ago. Tenten looked around.

"Hey, where's Captain? Didn't he sent Sakura to HQ and went to help you?"

Neji frowned. "Yeah…what happened to him?" it was unlike the Uchiha to leave his comrades to battle, apart from if he was forced to. He started to wonder if anything happened to the Uchiha as they went into the closet.

* * *

"SASUKE! Damn it!" Naruto shouted as he ran to keep up with the Uchiha. Sasuke had his Sharingan activated and was running towards the forest at the back of the school compound. Naruto had spotted him after he sent Sakura to the HQ.

"Sasuke! Where the hell are you going!?" he yelled again, as he caught up with Sasuke. Sasuke glared at him.

"Shut up Naruto! I saw him!" Naruto gritted his teeth, it was always like this. Whenever Sasuke caught a glimpse of Orochimaru, he would chase after him. He never knew the reason though, as Kakashi forbid anyone to talk about the time Sasuke went to Orochimaru. Despite Naruto's protest, he continued to follw Sasuke, until they reach an open field where they stop. Sasuke's glare intensified, and he was looking at a figure in front of them. Naruto moved to a defensive stance, and the figure chuckled.

"My my Naruto, why don't we talk this out?" Kabuto smirked and crossed his arms. Naruto growled but did not move, as Sasuke's hand was outstretched in front of him.

"Where is he!? I saw him, he's here isn't he!?" Sasuke asked, venom dripping from his voice each word he spoke. Kabuto laughed, making the atmosphere heavier then it was.

"Sasuke, has anger and hatred blinded you that much? That was just a bunshin he sent, unless your saying you Sharingan couldn't see it?" Sasuke said nothing but lunged towards him, making Naruto shocked and startled Kabuto. Sasuke pulled out his gun and aimed for the leg, wanting to make him immobile, but Kabuto's reflex was good and he manage to dodge before Sasuke pulled the trigger.

"Your losing you touch Sasuke-kun." He said, smirking and taking out a kunai. Sasuke growled and dash again, all the while Naruto was trying to stop him.

"Sasuke! Don't let his words get to you!" Naruto shouted, also taking out his gun. _'Damn…when he loses control like this, it just makes him more vulnerable!'_

Naruto tried to aim, but everytime Sasuke would get in the line of it, and growled in frustration. Sasuke had to get some _sense _into his head, but **how**!? Kabuto smirked at this, seeing how the Uchiha was affecting his teammate. He stepped towards a cliff, and Sasuke didn't notice, but Naruto did.

"SASUKE! STOP MOVING!" he yelled, dashing towards his best friend. Unfortunately, Sasuke was too blinded by his anger and ran towards Kabuto, his gun long forgotten on the ground and a Chidori in his hand. Kabuto shrugged, did some handseals and appeared behind him.

"It would have been more fun if Orochimaru-sama was here, isn't it Sasuke-kun?" Sasuke turned but was roughly pushed by a chakra infused fist towards the edge of the cliff. He fell.

"SASUKE!!!!!!" Naruto did not make it in time and watched in horror as his friend fell off, Kabuto laughing and disappearing.

* * *

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Sakura screamed as the lift dropped at a deadly speed. The lift had been working fine, until it stopped halfway and started dropping.

'What the hell!? It's not suppose to be like this!!' she thought as she cling onto the wall, which was hard. 'Am I gonna die?' she panicked and started to feel dizzy from the gravitation pull.

_'Sasuke…'_ were her only thoughts before blacking out, the lift still falling.

* * *

**MaidenDark:** Okaay...this is looong...maybe cause of the fighting scene...(bows) I suck at writing fighting scenes, forgive me...(cries) Hope you all like it!!

**Sasuke:** How come I fall off? Not Naruto!?

**MaidenDark:** Err...you were the one fighthing. O.O

**Sasuke:** ...Oh.

**MaidenDark:** Okaaaaay!!! Pls review! Really appreciated there's been less review lately...(cries) but I'll continue to update erery week!! If you have an idea on how to improve ma story, just drop a review yeah?? XD XD Thanks!

((Sasuke pats Dark's head))

Click the butttooooooooooooooooooooon!! XD XD


	7. Chapter 7: Gone

_Thanks to those who reviewed!_

**Cunning Angel: **Lolz, I didn't really think of it...I just wrote it. I noticed it when you left the review...heheh

**Merridaine:** Hurt Sasuke? Mwa? I wouldn't!! (cries) ehem...sorry bout that.

**LunarRose73: **yesh! I'm evil by nature!! XD But no worry he no die, I'm not that cruel am I? (evil grin)

**Seguha: **thanks! XD

**Yukibozu: **mwahah updating! XP

**Rainingblood666: **I didn't notice, thx for telling me, I edited it after you told me...XD

**Jami16: **yesss! I update weekly! Xd

**ForeheadKat: **Errrr...Did I...do something?? O.O

**Piller-ayesha:** Where have you been? Lolz Haven seen you in a while. XD Yes I'll update sooner if I hav the chapters done!

**SDJ: **What? Grounded!? O.O I'll update for sure! Keep reading yeah! And keep writing! XD

_A/N: Sorry for the delay of the update...I normally upload the chap on Friday night, but I came home around 3am yesterday, so I wasn't able to do it as I was practically dead... X(_

* * *

**Chapter 7: Gone**

Sakura opened her eyes, wincing at the bright light that shot into the room. She looked around to see all white, the ceiling, fan, bed and curtains.

"_Where am I?"_

She tried to get up, but a pain shot through her body and she fell back onto the pillow, gasping for air. She let out a long breath and continued to observe her surroundings.

"_Everything white…a hospital?"_

The sound of a door opening and closing got her attention, and she turned her head to see Neji standing there. He looked startled that she was awake, but he offered her a small smile which she returned. Neji pulled a chair towards her bed and sat down, still not saying a word, until she spoke.

"W-what happened…?"

Neji sighed. This was not going to be pretty. He just found out yesterday, when Naruto came back bruised, bloodied and dirty. His face was covered with mud, his clothes torn in places and his eyes were dulled. The others had ushered him inside the HQ to clean up, they were very worried as he had been missing for three days. When told him about what happened to Sakura, he almost fainted from shock, lack of food and water. Tsunade had ordered that Naruto be put to bed rest, as he was in no shape to do anything for now. They visited him the following day, and found out what had happened to him.

"Sakura…" he began, searching for the right words to say. She looked at him, confused at his tone of voice, sadness. He took her hand and looked her straight in the eyes, deciding to tell her what happened to her first.

"The lift was tampered, and the strings broke when you were coming down to HQ. Hinata and Ino managed to stop it before it crashed to the bottom, luckily. But you were severely injured, Tsunade-sama examined you herself, and said that you had to rest at least three months before going back to school."

Sakura nodded, remembering the incident. "How long have I been asleep?"

"Three days. You injured your back and hand, so you shouldn't move around for a while."

She nodded again and leaned back into the pillows. "Where're the others? Were you hurt?"

Neji shook his head. "I wasn't hurt, don't worry. The others will be here shortly, they're having a meeting and I was asked to check on you."

Shortly after he said that, the door opened, revealing the rest of the ANBU and Tsunade. They came in and closed the door quietly, unaware that Sakura was awake already.

"Tsunade-sama?" they jumped at her voice and turned to see her emerald green eyes staring at them. Ino almost cried and hugged her best friend, letting go when she gasped in pain. Smiling sheepishly, she sat down next to Shikamaru. Hinata smiled softly and sat down, while Kakashi patted her head and Naruto stayed quiet. Tsunade went about checking her injuries and smiled in satisfaction when she found out that Sakura's condition was improving.

"Well Sakura, I think I can cut down your bed rest period to two months." Sakura nodded and looked at the ANBU in front of her. She noticed someone missing.

"Hey…where's Sasuke-kun?" everyone looked away, avoiding eye contact with her. Neji had a numb look on his face, as everyone else, especially Naruto. Naruto went over to her, eyes full of sadness and his voice with regret.

"Sakura…" he choked out. "He's…._gone_…"

Her eyes widened. Gone? "W-wait…what do you mean…_gone_?"

Naruto looked away and Kakashi bowed his head. Shikamaru was holding Ino, who had tears streaming down her face, Hinata was with Tenten who just came in, neither said a word. Tsunade cleared her throat, and all attention turned to her.

"Sakura, according to Naruto, Sasuke had a fight with one of the Sound in the forest behind the school. The Sound is the group that Orochimaru is in, the one that is after you. She paused and looked away. "He...fell of a cliff during the fight…"

Sakura trembled, hearing the fact that Sasuke was not here was a big hit to her. Neji tried to calm her down, but no avail.

"Did no one find him!?" she asked quietly, gripping Neji's hand tightly.

"Naruto went down immediately to search, but he couldn't locate him, even after three days. As you see, Naruto himself is still worn out."

Sakura looked at Naruto, who still had his head down. She could see the bandages on his body, and the scratches that marked his face were drying up.

"I'm sorry Sakura…I couldn't…I couldn't find him…" Hinata approached him and held his hand. Sakura bit her lip and forced a smile.

"It's okay Naruto…you did your best…" she trailed off, thinking about what she just said.

"It wasn't _enough_! My **best** wasn't enough to find him **damn it**!" Naruto yelled, shocking everyone in the room.

Tsunade asked Hinata to bring Naruto back to his room, as he was not emotionally stable to handle this. Kakashi left too with them, saying he'll keep an eye on Naruto. Ino and Tenten had to leave to get back to their post, in case anything else happened, so Shikamaru, Tsunade, Neji and Sakura herself were left in the room. Tsunade turned to Sakura.

"Sakura, I know, this is going to be hard for you. But I promise you, we have people still looking for him, I don't want to lose a good captain like him."

Sakura smiled lightly, and nodded her thanks. Tsunade left the room with Shikamaru, who was head of tacticians. He was the one who issued search parties, so Tsunade had to talk to him. He smiled at Sakura and left.

"Neji…if you have somewhere to go, you can go. It's okay if you're not free…" Sakura said, turning to Neji.

Neji held her hand, and smiled. "Sakura, I'm fine. But you…"

Sakura bit her lip, there was one thing she hated about Neji, it was that he always knew her feelings no matter how hard she tries to hide it. He moved forward to hold her close.

"Sakura…it's okay to cry…" he muttered, patting her back.

"Wha…I'm not…gonna…" her teardrops fell from her eyes and onto his clothes. She tried to stop but found that she couldn't. She was sad, horrified, angry and scared all at the same time. Sad that Sasuke was not around, angry at herself for not being able to do anything, horrified that Sasuke was indeed gone and scared to think that there would be not more Sasuke around to protect her.

"_Sakura, if you don't trust me, I can't protect you properly. I'm really sorry, I know its hard to forgive me and that I somehow betrayed your trust, but please…give me a chance to prove that its different now."_

She cried harder when she remembered his words, and regretted that she didn't get to talk to him more. There could be a possibility that he would not be able to prove to her that it was different _this_ time. Neji just sat there holding her as she cried, hoping that Shikamaru would find their captain.

* * *

Shikamru laid out the forest blueprint, he had kept it for training purposes, survival test. ANBU would be separated and placed in a certain place alone to prove themselves worthy in joining them by surviving a week alone there. His eyes scan the blueprint carefully and started pointing to possible places that Sasuke could be.

"Here, send a team here, and two teams searching here, it's a wide area." The three ANBU captains in the room nodded and left. Tsunade sighed, it was gonna be a long search.

"Are you sure its enough, sending out just three teams?" she ask the young genius. He nodded.

"We can't spare too much members, if Orochimaru were to attack again, what would happen if we had sent out half our members?"

Tsunade nodded at his point and left matters in his hands, going back to her own work.

* * *

Sakura sat alone in the hospital room, Neji had gone out to get her some food and won't be back for awhile. She sighed miserably and got up, changed and stepped out of the room. She went all the way down to the garden below the room.

Sitting down on the bench there, she thought back again on the things Sasuke and her talked about after she forgave him. She smiled slightly when she remembered how she tripped and the ice cream in her hand landed on his hair, he had stared at her with a forced smiled on his face. And another time where she accidentally swung her bag, hitting square in the face when he scared her from behind.

"But I'm never gonna see that again if he _doesn't_ come back…" she whispered to the wind. A tap on her shoulder snapped her out of her thoughts, and she turned to see a person standing behind her. She gasped when she almost mistook him for Sasuke.

"Sakura, you shouldn't be out here." The person said, holding a hand out to help her up. She numbly took it and stood up, staring at him all the while.

"Who are you?" she asked, as they walked back to the room.

"Itachi. Uchiha Itachi. I'm Sasuke's brother." He replied, opening the door.

"Sasuke's…_brother_?" she repeated, and a blurred vision of a boy with the same features who helped her with the ropes came back to her.

"You're the one who freed me from the ropes in the forest last time!" she exclaimed, while he merely chuckled.

"Yes Sakura, I was the boy who helped you." He said, sitting down on the chair. Sakura climbed back onto the bed, pulling the covers up.

"I'm your other bodyguard who doesn't _show_ because I'm always busy." He said, putting a bit of humor into his sentence and making Sakura giggle. Just then, the door opened.

"Itachi? What's wrong?" Neji asked, closing the door and walking in. "Here Sakura, your lunch."

Sakura smiled brightly and took the food from him, muttering her thanks. She was bored of the bland food in the hospital, and had pleaded Neji to get her something else to eat, which he gave in after a while.

Itachi shook his head and sighed. "It's nothing. Shisui is in one of the search parties, so I was assigned to watch over Sakura for the time being."

Neji nodded and turned to Sakura. "Hey, Hinata asked if you wanna go out after you're discharged from the hospital."

"When am I gonna _be_ discharged anyway?" she asked while eating, not knowing the way she ate made the food stick to her face. Itachi smirked at her childish face and Neji chuckled.

"Tomorrow Sakura, and your face is dirty." He said, handing her a tissue.

She blushed, embarrased and wiped it. "Okay, tell Hinata I would love to."

Neji smiled and nodded, making his way out. "I'll be leaving now Sakura, Itachi will take over."

Sakura smiled and waved, Itachi nodded and Neji left.

* * *

**A/N(Dark):** No cliffy!!! Yay!! _ehem..._Yes...Sasuke's not here yet! (gets bash) I think the chapters a lil short though...haiz

**Sasuke:** Hey! Where am I!?

**Dark:** ...Well, when I know where you are, I'll write it!

**Sasuke:** What!? You don't know where I am!? What kinda writer **are** you!?

**Dark:** ...An evil one that will make you disappear if you don't stop ranting. (smirks)

**Sasuke:** ... ... ...

**Sakura:** I want Sasuke-kun back!

**Dark: **Yes, you and the other reviewers...hehehe...

((Kicks Sasuke and Sakura away))

**Dark:** Okay! End of it! Pls click the button at the bottom left side and review! Sasuke will be in the next chappie! (I think) XD


	8. Chapter 8: I promised

**_Thanks to those who reviewed!!_**

**Yukibozu: **Lolz...he might be in...maybe...you'll have to read to see...XD

**Jami16: **XD maybeeeeeeeeee...I'm feeling evil...XD

**Pilar-ayesha: **Lolz...I noticed of course...heheh... read on yeah?? XD

**Seguha: **XD

**LunarRose73:**hahahz...nah...my friends always complain I'm evil...hehe ... lolz read ur story...poor sasuke...hehe XD

**ForeheadKat: **lolz...she was a lil too happy?? Hmm...true true...hehe, thx!! XD

_**A/N:** Okay! I was not, repeat** NOT** evil enough to update late. TT My modem died last week when it was raining...**someone** left it on and thunder was striking...so it died. My mom bought a new one today so I'm able to update it. My hand itches...almost clawed the old modem...ahahaha...(swt) well Ok! Sry for the delay...pls enjoy reading!

* * *

**Chapter 8: I promised**_

Sakura stepped out of the hospital, breathing in the fresh air instead of the smell of medication in the hospital. Ino, Hinata and TenTen were beside her, Neji had introduced TenTen to Sakura yesterday night, when he took over Itachi's shift. Hinata smiled and took Sakura's hand.

"Well, shall we head off then Sakura?"

Sakura nodded and Ino drove them to the mall. They spent almost four hours walking around window shopping as nothing really caught their eyes. Sakura suggested they sit down at a café or something for a drink, and the others agreed.

"So, what have you guys been up to since the incident?" Sakura asked, sipping on her vanilla milkshake.

"Well…we've been…looking for Sasuke." Ino said hesitantly, scared that Sakura might break down or something at the mention of Sasuke's name. TenTen and Hinata stayed quiet after that, waiting for Sakura's reaction. She remained silent.

"Oh…I see…a-any news on him yet?" She asked.

Ino shook her head. "Currently, Shikamaru has search parties looking for him, but they haven't made their report yet, so I don't know if there's any news on him today…"

Sakura nodded and forced a smile. "Its fine girls, I'm okay. I just hope we find him soon."

TenTen placed her hand on Sakura's shoulder and smiled softly, which she returned with a smile of her own.

* * *

Naruto, Shikamaru, Neji, Itachi and Shisui sat in front of the Hokage's desk, while Tsunade was looking at them with seriousness in her eyes. Shisui's report on the search today was lying on her desk, opened and read.

"Shisui's report confirms that blood stains were found at the bottom of the cliff where Uchiha Sasuke fell. It is not confirm though, whose blood it is and is currently being tested in the lab."

Itachi tightened his grip on the paper he was holding and tensed. Neji looked down and Naruto was silence.

"However," she continued. "Whether or not he is dead or alive, we could not locate his body. Assuming the worse, Orochimaru has reclaimed it. Or possibly, Sasuke himself walked away from the scene, but until now, he has not appeared."

"So that means…" Naruto asked. "We must expect the worse…"

Tsunade nodded. "I'm really sorry. I don't want to lose him, but its been five days. We're still looking for him."

Neji nodded and sighed heavily, Itachi clutched his fist so tightly that his knuckles turned white. His own brother, and he couldn't even do a thing. Shisui patted his shoulder lightly, Sasuke was like a brother to him like Itachi was too.

* * *

TenTen and Hinata had left earlier, saying that they needed to get back to work, and left Sakura in Ino's care. They were now walking in the park, the same one that Sasuke and Sakura had talked in after she forgave him. She smiled sadly reminiscing the memories that were not too long ago. Ino noticed the far off look on her best friend's face and sighed quietly, praying that Shikamaru would find Sasuke soon. While they were walking, a figure came from behind, shocking both girls by grabbing Ino and flinging her towards the back. There were not many people in the park thankfully, but Ino fell hard on her back, making her grit her teeth in pain.

Sakura turned and the figure grabbed her in a headlock, pointing a knife at her. Ino was still on the ground, struggling to get up and aid Sakura.

"_Damn! Where's the guys when you need them!?" _Ino thought angrily as she took out her kunai.

Sakura was having trouble breathing as the figure had a tight grip on her neck too. Ino charged forward, but stopped when the figure directed the knife closer to Sakura's face. Ino looked hesitant and unsure of what to do, when suddenly she just smirked. Sakura felt the grip on her loosen and the figure fell down unconscious. She turned to see black onyx eyes and raven black hair.

"_Sasuke-kun!?" _her eyes widened, but was disappointed to see Itachi standing behind her. Itachi grabbed the figure and examined him, roughly dropping his head down after growling.

"Just a normal thug. Desperate for money I guess…" he said, checking Sakura if she had any injuries.

Ino sighed in relief and sat down on the ground, seeing Shikamaru and Neji running towards them.

"You're late!!" She shouted at Shikamaru, hitting him on his leg as he was standing beside her. He scratched the back of his head and mumbled 'troublesome' while helping Ino up.

Sakura smiled at them and turned to Neji and Itachi, who were talking to one another.

"Sakura, come on, lets go home." Neji said, and Sakura agreed. She just came out from the hospital and encountered all this, she was worn out. Itachi chuckled at her whose eyelids were dropping. She rubbed her eyes sleepily and smiled sheepishly at Neji, who smiled slightly back. He bend down and nodded, and she climbed onto him. He hoisted her up, and bid goodbye to the others, who were heading back to the HQ.

* * *

"Neji…" Sakura said on the way back.

"Hm?"

"Sasuke…is he coming back…?" she yawned. Neji looked to his back and found out that she had dozed off. He reached the Hyuuga residence and went to her room, setting her in the bed and tucking her in like a kid. (A/N: Imagine….Hyuuha Neji tucking someone in…LOLZ!) He bent down and whispered in her ear.

"I honestly don't know Sakura…"

* * *

END……Just kidding…its not even four pages yet!!!! XD

* * *

An hour ago, the lab results had shown that the blood stains they found in the forest were indeed Uchiha Sasuke's. Shisui sighed and rubbed his temples, when Itachi heard this, he wouldn't be happy. He wouldn't be surprise if Itachi demand that he be let on the search party too. Tsunade was at a meeting with the Kazekage, Gaara and would not be back until later that day. He had to find Sasuke, he just had to. He put on his cloak and went to the forest again.

Itachi was reading scrolls in his room when he heard Shisui going out, as his room was just beside him. He looked out to see Shisui with his cloak on, and noticed that it was raining heavily.

"_Is he crazy? Going out in the weather like this, he'll probably get sick!" _Itachi thought as he threw his cloak on, going after Shisui.

* * *

Shisui walked through the forest grounds and looked around.

"_This should do. Thank you Kakashi for letting me use this." _He thought as he made a few handseals.

"Kuchiyose no jutsu!" he slammed his hand on the ground.

POOF!

A wolf like nin dog sat where the smoked cleared and he stared at Shisui.

"I am Sakaki, half wolf and half dog. (**A/N:**that was untold for...swt.) What can I do?" it asked.

Shisui held out a cloth. "This is the scent of the person we're looking for, do you think you can trace him?"

Sakaki sniffed at it and barked. "It's faint, but I can smell him."

Shisui nodded. "Let's go."

Before he took another step though, he heard someone calling him.

"Shisui!" Itachi stepped out from behind the tree. Shisui looked at him before nodding to him too, indicating that he should come, and the three set off.

* * *

Sakura woke up and glanced around groggily, she was still not wide awake yet. She noticed that she was in her room and yawned. Hinata came in a minute later and announced that breakfast was ready.

"Uhh…morning already…?" Sakura asked.

Hinata giggled. "Yes Sakura, and Tsunade wants you to go to HQ later for your check up."

Sakura nodded and got up lazily, waving to Hinata who stepped out, leaving Sakura to her morning routine.

She emerged from her room a half hour later, refreshed and wide awake. Neji was waiting outside for her and they walked to the dining hall together. The other Hyuuga members had already left, much to Sakura's relief. She never did like the idea of dining with the Hyuugas, as they looked like they were glaring at her all the time. Hinata was sitting on the tatami mat and smiled when she saw them approaching.

"Good morning Sakura, Neji-nii san."

Sakura greeted her back warmly and Neji nodded. They ate in silence and got up after that, getting ready to set off for HQ. Sakura packed a few books to read as she missed a few classes, Hinata had gave her some notes that would help her which Sakura was grateful. Neji offered to teach her homework when he was free, and she agreed.

Just as they were walking out and crossing the road, Sakura realized she had forgotten something and told the other two to go on ahead. Neji was about to protest but Sakura had already ran back to the house, unaware that someone was following her, waiting for the chance where she would be alone.

"Ah…here it is." Sakura said as she grabbed her purse, inside containing a few pictures of her, Sasuke, Neji, Ino and the other ANBU. She smiled fondly and tucked it in her pocket, rushing out to catch up with Neji and Hinata.

Just as she stepped out of the house, someone grabbed her neck and held her up. She struggled and kicked, but the person was far stronger then her, and he was choking her.

"_No!! What the hell!?" _she thought angrily, hasn't she had enough of this? She wanted to scream for Sasuke, Neji or even Itachi! But she couldn't make a sound. Then, she heard it, the very words and voice that she longed for, for the past five days.

_"I'll protect you, so give me a chance to prove it's different this time, Sakura."_

The person holding fell down to the ground, gasping for air. A kunai was embedded in the back of his back, and the person who was responsible for it, was holding Sakura. She cried and laughed while hugging the person, happy that he was back.

"I'm _back_…Sakura…" Sasuke said, holding her as she cried, ignoring the searing pain that ran through his body caused by the wounds that were inflicted on him when he fell from the cliff. Sakura hugged him tightly, refusing to let go of him.

"Welcome back…Sasuke…!" she smiled through her tears, Sasuke smirked.

"I _promised_ didn't I? I'll protect you…" he said, before losing consciousness

* * *

**A/N: **Yes...sry for the late update...I'm updating all my stuff now...grr...my art, my blog, fanfic and forumz I join...TT

**Sasuke:** What!? My time in this chap is so short!!!

**Dark: **Be thankful I made you appear again...((mumblemumble))

**Sasuke: **I came out in the end...

**Sakura: **I hugged Sasuke-kun!!!

**Sasuke:** ((blush))

**Dark: **((evil laughs))

Well yes...again, sry for the late update...XD Pls review!!


	9. Chapter 9: The beginning

**_Thanks to those who reviewed!!_**

**Cunning Angel: **lolz! I wanted to make him appear last...hehe I thought the part where Itachi appeared would get ppl thinking its Sasuke? O.O looks like it didn't...lol

**My Eternal Deadly Romance: **hehe...chill. err what's tacos? XD

**LunarRose73: **Will do!! thanks!! (hugz)

**PinkRazor: **Lmao! I enabled anoymous comments...hhehe! Alright I am writing XD

**momo: **Update weekly!! hehe

**seguha: **lolz! XD

**sakura9898: **Thanks!! XD

_**A/N:** Okaay! Another chappie! Actually it was written last minute, and I'm running out of ideas how it should go...lolz. Working on the Betrayal doujin takes up most of my time...so yeah...lost track of time and hurried to write this. This chap ain't much, but hope you enjoy! Oh..and check out ma doujin when your free ppl!! XD_

* * *

**Chapter 9: The beginning of the end**

Shisui and Itachi stood in front of the Hokage, who had a vein popping out. Apparently, they had went out to the forest in the middle of the night, which was raining cats and dogs, they could have been stranded out there or worse, died!! The only thing stopping the Hokage from suspending them from duties for that was that they found Uchiha Sasuke.

"Fine, you're off the hook this time, but don't think that I'll let you off easily next time. Good job on finding Uchiha Sasuke." Tsunade said, waving her hand.

Itachi smirked and Shisui thanked her, when they found Sasuke, he was badly wounded and his eyes were not focused. Itachi had considered bringing the medic nin there instead of moving him, Shisui considered it too, but said that Sakura might want to see him as fast as possible. At the mention of Sakura's name, Sasuke had jolted awake and stood up, running pass Itachi, Shisui and Sakaki, startling all three.

"Guess that Sakura's name was the key to awake him?" Shisui joked while they chased him.

* * *

Sakura sat beside the hospital bed where Sasuke lay. She was smiling and holding his hand, happy that he was back with them safe. Neji and Hinata had already told the others about Sasuke's return, as they were the ones who brought Sasuke to the hospital. Sakura had cringed when the doctor told her how serious his injuries were, two broken rib bone, bruised backbone and a fractured leg. The doctor also said that Sasuke was lucky the broken rib did not hit any internal organ.

"Sakura…"

Sasuke's voice snapped her out of her thoughts, she turned and was expecting to see onyx eyes, but instead, Sasuke himself turned to the other side, still asleep.

"_He's dreaming about me?" _she thought, blushing.

"You're…" she leaned closer to listen… "Still so _short_…"

… …

She stood up, eye twitching and watching as Sasuke slowly opened his eyes.

"Sakura…?" he mumbled sleepily. "I…"

BAM

Sakura had whacked his head with a pillow that he almost fell out of bed. He groaned in pain and glared at her.

"What the hell is your problem woman!?" he shouted, clutching his side.

Sakura gasp. She totally forgot about his injuries and smiled sheepishly. Sasuke calmed down and leaned back against the pillows, sighing.

"I came back battered and bruised, and you give me another beating? God Sakura, what's wrong with you?"

Sakura bowed her head and mumbled an apology, Sasuke sighed again and patted her head.

"Forget it. It's okay." He said, smiling a bit.

Sakura raised her head and nodded, smiling brightly. Just as she was about to say something, the door burst open.

"TEME!!!! I HEARD YOU'RE BACK!!" Naruto came running in like a mad dog. Hinata and Ino were trying, but failing to restrain him.

"Baka!! He's sleepi- huh? He's awake!" Ino said, whacking Naruto on the head. Hinata sat Naruto on the chair and went over to Sasuke.

"C-Captain…It's good to have you back…" she said, smiling.

Sasuke nodded and smirked. "I wouldn't go down so easily."

Hinata giggled and Ino whacked Sasuke lightly.

"Don't think you're so invincible next time Captain! You had us all worried here!" she said, grinning.

Sasuke nodded again. "I'll try to remember that Ino."

Sakura smiled softly as she watched the ANBU tackle their Captain. Naruto had woken up and was trying to hug Sasuke, who was horrified and avoided him. Ino and Hinata were laughing at the scene. Neji, Shikamaru and Kakashi had came in a little later, and was staring at the two friends, who looked like they were wrestling.

"I see you're up little brother." All eyes turned to the door where they saw Itachi and Shisui standing. Shisui was holding a bag of fruits while Itachi had an eyebrow raised at the scene before him.

"Are we…interrupting something here?" he asked.

The others burst out laughing, even Neji had a hard time controlling his laughter. Sasuke pushed Naruto off him and glared at his brother.

"NO. What do you want nii san?" he asked grumpily.

Itachi chuckled and tossed a bunch of papers to him. "I came to deliver your work Sasuke."

He picked them up and stared at Itachi. "Paper work? Reports?"

Itachi smirked. "Homework dear brother. You missed at least five days of school, how are you gonna be top student if you don't do your work?"

Sasuke cursed under his breath and started rummaging through the papers, though it was easy, it was a lot of work. Neji and Shikamaru smirked at the look on his face, and the girls giggled. They left him alone to do his work, as they too needed to do theirs. Only Sakura remained by the end of the day, Tsunade had given her permission to stay in the hospital.

"Algebra…the formula…Science…chemistry…" Sasuke mumbled as he wrote down the answers. Sakura stared in amazement at how fast he was doing it. He stopped writing when he noticed it though.

"What?" he asked.

Sakura shook her head, and took out her own homework. Sasuke shrugged and continued doing his, mumbling and grumbling all the way. After an hour of writing, Sasuke was finally done with his homework and smirked in satisfaction. He set the papers down and looked at Sakura. She had fallen asleep while doing her work, and her head was falling of the chair. He sighed and smiled softly.

"Can't believe she still has the habit of falling asleep while sitting…"

He got off the bed and scooped Sakura into his arms, laying her down on the couch in the room. She turned over to a more comfortable position and smiled in her sleep. Sasuke chuckled at her childish attitude and placed a blanket over her shoulders. He brushed aside a few strands of her hair and patted her head.

"Good night Sakura." He said, turning to get into his own bed, when he felt a tug on his shirt. Sakura was holding it and mumbling in her sleep.

"Sasuke…don't go…" his eyes widened at this and he gently pried her fingers off. He sat down beside her and held her hand like she did his before he woke up.

"Don't worry, I'm here Sakura…"

* * *

Naruto and Hinata sat in Ichiraku, waiting for their ramen. Neji and TenTen had went out on a date, while Ino and Shikamaru were in HQ researching on Orochimari with Itachi and Shisui.

Hinata rubbed her hands as the cold night wind blew. Naruto noticed his girlfriend's antics and smiled. He took off his coat and draped it over her. She smiled and snuggled into the warmth of the coat.

"Ne Hinata-chan, do you think Sasuke likes Sakura?" he asked, drinking his tea.

Hinata smiled. "I don't know Naruto, but I think Sakura likes Sasuke."

Naruto grinned brightly. "Yeah! I noticed that too!"

She giggled at Naruto's attitude and smiled again. "Wouldn't it be great if one day they would be together Naruto-kun?"

"Nah…Sasuke hasn't even dated since…since…forever!"

Hinata nodded. "You even thought he was gay at one point…"

Naruto held up his hand in defense. "Hey! Neji and Shikamaru thought so too! I mean, he wouldn't even look at girls!"

"You know, if Sasuke hears that, he would probably have your head…"

The couple turned to see Kakashi standing behind them with Anko, their science teacher.

"A-Anko Sensei!?" Naruto choked. Hinata was staring at the two who sat down beside them.

Naruto's mouth was still hanging open and Anko pushed it up.

"Flies will go into your mouth if you keep that up Uzumaki." She said.

Kakashi smiled under his mask. "Haha…I guess I didn't tell you guys that me and Anko were dating?"

Naruto and Hinata shook their heads. Anko smirked and Kakashi chuckled, and he told them that he started dating Anko a year ago, and that she works for Tsunade not only in the school too.

"I was under Orochimaru once, but I quit cause he was too pushy… Idiotic snake I'd say…"

Kakashi chuckled, while Naruto and Hinata still stared at them both. Anko grinned and waved her hand, telling them to just forget about it.

* * *

Neji sat and stared at the board where Morino Ibiki, their algebra teacher was writing. Naruto was dozing off at the back sit and Shikamaru was sleeping. TenTen sat behind him and Ino sat in front of him. They were all tired from researching on Orochimaru the whole night, resulting in almost nothing. Tsunade had dismissed them from it, saying that they needed to attend school to avoid unwanted attention. Sasuke and Sakura were in the hospital, so they were excused from school for another few days, but they were studying and catching up on their classes, well mostly Sakura as Sasuke already know the things the teacher taught.

Neji turned and stared out the window, bored of Ibiki's deep voice. He looked up at the clouds and wondered why Shikamaru was always staring at it, when he saw something that caught his eyes.

"What the…"

The ANBU that were in class were already alert and looking out the window, and the students too. Ibiki looked out too when he saw the students reaction.

A gigantic snake was coming towards the school, right out from the forest.

* * *

**A/N:** Yes I love snakes...LOLZ just jk...hehe!

**Sasuke: **I hate snakes...

**Dark: **Aww...its just snakes...((backs away from one)) Okaay...I am kinda scared of it...

**Sasuke: ... ... ...**

**Dark: **hehe yeah well...((throws snake at Sasuke, who burns it with his Katon jutsu)) Pls review ppl!!! XD


	10. Chapter 10: Wait for me

**_Thanks to those who reviewed!!_**

**LunarRose73: **Lmao!! snakes are pervs! So orochi is one too!! hehehe... happy belated turkey day to u too((very belated)) XD

**Dontconfuseme: **thank you so much!!! XD yess romance between Sasuke n Sakura, definitely!!

**seguha: **thank you so much!! XD

**pilar-ayesha: **LMAO!! hehehe.. Sasuke is back! mwahaha...I'mma updating! XD

**ForeheadKAT: **lolz! thank you!! XD

**My Eternal Deadly Romance: **its a cliffy!!! heheheh

_**A/N: **w00t ty so much for the comments yeah? If y'all didn't comment, I don't think I would have continued this...hehehe. Alrighty then, hope you guys enjoy this chap too yeah? xD_

* * *

**Chapter 10: Wait for me**

Sakura held her algebra book in one hand, and her math book in the other. Sasuke was staring at her, wondering what she was gonna do. She glared at both books and threw them out the window.

"What the…Sakura! That was _homework_!" Sasuke groaned, while Sakura sat fuming on her seat.

"I'll **never** get any of those anyway. Might as well say I lost it." Sakura mumbled. Sasuke rolled his eyes, studying was never something Haruno Sakura liked. He sighed and got up, his injuries were still aching, but he managed. He called the nurse to get the books that Sakura tossed out the window, and he sat back down beside her.

"Alright Sakura, I'll teach you if you would just stop fuming and cursing the subject. It's actually easy." Sasuke said, gently lying the book in front of her, afraid that she would just blow. She didn't, and he was thankful.

"I'll never get it Sasuke-kun! I mean, it's like the subject hates me!" she whined, making him sigh again. He took a few pieces of paper and started scribbling on it.

* * *

The school was in panic, students were running everywhere and anywhere to get out. Teachers couldn't control them and the ANBU were unsure of what they needed to do. Tsunade was no where in sight, and Sasuke was in the hospital. Neji was taking over Sasuke's duties for now, but with this situation, things couldn't get any worse, could it?

Oh how wrong Neji would find out he is. After trying to get the situation under control, Hinata told him that Tsunade was with the Kazekage in an important meeting, thus not hearing about this yet. Then TenTen told him that Naruto had went missing, Kakashi was in battle and Ibiki with him. It couldn't be any worse.

"_God no…please…" _Neji prayed as he watched a figure emerged from the crowd of students who were rushing to get out.

"Hello Neji-_kun_. Did you miss me?" a blond with hair covering one part of his face came out, holding a katana in his hand.

"Deidara…" Neji hissed. He was so wrong, Akatsuki picked a bad time to attack them.

* * *

"Oh!! I didn't know it was that easy…" Sakura laughed and wrote down the answer. Sasuke just smirked and leaned back.

"If you would just relax and concentrate, its easy." He said, taking out a book.

Sakura continued doing her homework, with the occasional "What's that?" and "I see…", and Sasuke read his book about martial arts. His wounds were already almost healed, and the doctors had earlier given him permission to leave the hospital tomorrow. He was relieved, since he was getting sick of the hospital smell and food. Sakura had stayed by his side since he was admitted to the hospital, to which he was grateful, rather then Naruto who couldn't keep silent.

"_Speak of the devil…"_ Sasuke thought when the door burst open, and the voices of nurses trying to restrain Naruto could be heard from behind.

"Sasuke!!" Naruto shouted, causing Sakura to wince at the sound of his voice.

"What?" Sasuke asked, clearly irritated that Naruto shouted. It was not like he's deaf or something, but seeing the urgent look on his best friend's face immediately alerted him.

"Attack…at school! Sound has launched the attack! I think I saw Akatsuki too!!" he panted, holding the wall for support. The nurses had left them, since they couldn't do anything.

"Shit…" Sasuke cursed under his breath, Sakura had a worried look on her face. Sasuke was not fully healed yet, he could get worse if he went into battle now. Sasuke noticed this and motioned for Naruto to get his gear. He nodded and left.

"Sakura…" Sasuke started. She turned to him, tears welling up in her eyes, he sighed.

"I'll be fine. I promise." He said, smiling softly at her. He brushed away a few strands of hair from her face, and her tears fell.

"But Sasuke-kun! You're not healed yet! What happens if you get worse!?" she cried, holding his hand.

He racked his other hand through his hair, sighing again.

"Sakura, I'm your bodyguard. Orochimaru is certainly going after you, I doubt he knows you're here, but I have to go. It's my **duty**."

"_Duty…"_ the word echoed in her brain. It was her secret, that since young she had a crush on Uchiha Sasuke, no one knew though, not even Ino, who was her best friend after Sasuke left.

She slowly let go of his hand, disappointed that Sasuke was protecting her only because it was his duty, and no more. She shook her head, it's not like she expected that he would like her, but a little hope wouldn't hurt right?

Sasuke noticed her antics and grew worried. Standing in front of him was the girl he knew since young, the girl he sworn to protect when he saw the other kids picking on her, but now, looking at her, she was no longer that little girl. She had grown and became a beautiful girl, matured and yet so fragile. He screw his eyes shut and took a deep breath, it was now or never, he thought.

"Sakura…" he said, making her look up at him. He quickly leaned down and gave her a kiss on her lips. Her eyes widened at this and her body tensed, and then she realized it.

Uchiha Sasuke was kissing her, Haruno Sakura.

Sasuke pulled away after a while, blushing. Sakura was still stunned and didn't have time to respond to his kiss. He scratched the back of his head nervously, and turned to the door, intending to leave, but Sakura caught his arm, making him look back at her who was blushing furiously.

"Sasuke-kun…" she bit her lip, eyes looking straight at him, and he gulped.

What happened next shocked Sasuke, she leaned forward and kissed him, smiling brightly after doing so.

"Please…be careful." She said,blushing eight layers of red. He smirked and nodded, leaning down once more to her ear.

"Wait for me Sakura, I'll definitely be back." He whispered, and Sakura smiled again, hugging him. Just then, Naruto came back, fully clad in his gear and in his hands were Sasuke's gear.

"Hey teme…!?" Naruto stopped when he saw Sasuke and Sakura embracing each other, he smiled slightly at the sight.

"_So he finally did it huh? Took him long enough." _He coughed, making the two jump and blushed.

"Sorry to interrupt, but we have a crisis here..." he said, handing Sasuke his things. Sasuke nodded and put them on, while Sakura stood there, watching them.

"What am I suppose to do then?" she asked.

Naruto looked at her. "Go to HQ, you should be safe there, there's a passage leading there in the hospital, I'll take-"

"**I'll **take her." Sasuke interrupted. "Naruto, you go ahead and tell the others I'll be there, and contact the other ANBU who are in HQ. Nii-san and Shisui should already be on the way."

Naruto nodded and sprinted off, leaving the two behind. Sasuke took Sakura's hand and ushered her to the passage.

"…Ne…Sasuke-kun…" Sakura started, and Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her.

"Yeah?"

She bit her bottom lip again, nervous about this, Sasuke stopped walking and pressed a few buttons, making the door in front of him open. He walked inside, still holding her hand.

"Did…did that mean anything to you?" she blurted out, making Sasuke stop. He turned to her with seriousness on his face, making her gulped. He smiled softly and lead her to the lift inside the room. When she was in, Sasuke pushed a few buttons.

"Sakura, I don't know how to express my feelings or anything like that, but... I like- no, love you. Since the day I swore to protect you, I started falling for you." He admitted, blushing.

Sakura blushed at his confession. The lift door was closing, and Sasuke just stared at her, smiling.

"I love you too!" Sakura blurted out again, just in time to see his eyes widened then a smile, and the lift was closed.

She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding and slumped down on the lift floor. She touched her lips and smiled, happy that Sasuke actually loved her back.

* * *

Itachi and Shisui were running towards the school, Naruto had contacted them, and other ANBU members in the HQ. The reason they weren't there earlier was because they were training.

"Damn it…why do they always choose a bad time!?" Shisui cursed as they jumped from tree to tree.

"Aa…I heard Akatsuki is there too." Itachi said, narrowing his eyes. Shisui looked at him.

"Payback?" he asked, smirking. Itachi smirked too, nodding his head. They reached their location, immediately jumping into action.

* * *

Hinata and TenTen were still securing the safety of the students, which wasn't easy since the big snake they saw made them panic. The emergency escape route was crowded with students, since it was a big school, which meant a lot of students. TenTen cursed at this, and jumped for joy mentally when the last of the student went in. Hinata quickly shut the door and took out a kunai. Neji had started battling with Deidara, while Kakashi and Ibiki was trying to fend off the big snake.

"_Damn that snake!!" _TenTen cursed as she saw Kakashi avoid a blow from the snake's tail. She took out her gun and katana, rushing to aid them.

Meanwhile, Neji was trying to avoid touching any of Deidara's clay bird. Which wasn't easy as he kept sending them out. Neji was good at taijutsu, but that would mean hitting the clay, resulting in a badly damaged him. So he took out both his guns, and aimed.

"My my Neji-_kun_, aren't you gonna use your Kaiten?" Deidate smirked, making Neji twitched at the sound of his name. He pulled the trigger, taking out five to six clay birds.

"Stop being a coward and fight like an Akatsuki. Or have you lost your guts since I killed Sasori?" he mocked, taking out another few clay birds with one shot.

Deidara merely smirked as a reply. Sasori was his partner in the Akatsuki gang, but he was killed by ANBU, mainly Neji during a fight sometime last year. Since then, Deidara had been working with a newcomer, Tobi who was seriously getting on his nerves.

"Nah…I'm just warming up, un!" he said, taking out a bigger clay, making Neji widened his eyes.

"_What the hell!? He's gonna blow up a big portion!" _he thought, dashing forward, wanting to stop him. But Deidara smirked, and Neji realized it was a trap.

"_Shit!" _

_

* * *

_

**A/N:** CLIFFY!!!ehem...yay battle starts!!! xD I'm not really good in romance scenes and battles...hell I think I'm not good at any scences... ehehe...

**Sasuke: **I'm not in battle yet???

**Dark: **Oh shut it, you kissed Sakura, not enough?

**Sasuke: **((blush))

**Dark:** ((smirk)) What do you think Sakura?

**Sakura: **Er...I...gottagoclearmystuffforschoolseeyasoon!! ((runz))

**Dark,Sasuke: **... ... ...

**Dark: **Okaaaaay then! Review pls!! XD


	11. Chapter 11: The battle

**_Thanks to those who reviewed!!_**

**piler-ayesha: **hahahz! its fine nyaa, glad I enabled anon..anonno? argh..whatever comments.hehe... ohh 'lmao' stands for 'laughing my ass off'. its like 'lol'. XD

**foreheadKAT: **updated. XD

**yukibozu: **been a while!! XD poor innocent students...having me as an author to torture them...wkakakaka...

**onyx eyed kitten: **lolz! why the sudden change of name? XD hehe...yeah this chap is where the battle scenes are! XD

**SDJ: **LOLZ. My spelling is off sometimes, despite my grades too. heheh...I love Deidara too!! SasorixDeidara sometimes is entertainning..hehhehe...I don't take algebra actually, I don't know what it is either. we don't have it here...XD I thought it was a nice subject, and hard one, so I made Sakura do it...hehheh...

**Miyuki: **hahahz...randomly one actually the bodyguards. She doesn't really have 10 bodyguards, just...shifts? yeah something like tat...

**A/N: **Alrighty then! hope you guys enjoy this chapter too! Reviews have been less lately...its sad really...((cries)) heheh!

* * *

**Chapter 11: The battle**

The wind blew on his hair as Sasuke sprinted across the school grounds, seeing students rushing out from the emergency exit on the other side of the school, all looking frantic and afraid. No one noticed him nor bothered to look his way, which he was thankful for he did not need his fangirls right now. He touched his lips and smiled softly, remembering the kiss he shared with Sakura. He shook his head, now was not the time, he could think about it later, right now, his team needed all the help they could get. He halted upon seeing Kakashi's back on him, blocking his path.

"Kakashi!" he shouted, catching the older man's attention. Kakashi turned to see Sasuke unsheathing his katana, and pointed towards Neji and Deidara.

"Go help him, we'll handle this one." Kakashi ordered. Sasuke nodded and went to aid Neji.

* * *

She walked slowly out of the lift, still unclear of what happened just now with Sasuke. Sighing, she walked towards the lab, where Ino and Shikamaru would most likely be, and a hand landed on her shoulder.

"Sakura?" Said girl turned to see Ino with a puzzled look on her face. "What happened to you? You're red."

Sakura clasped her hands to her face and shook her head, indicating it was nothing, but Ino wasn't gonna let it go so easily. She grinned and edged nearer to the pastel haired girl.

"Uh huh….does it have something to do with a certain Uchiha…?" Sakura blushed more and tried to run, but Ino grabbed her wrist and pulled her all the way to the lab.

* * *

Hinata was worried, she was the only one securing the students exit, and they had made it out safely, but what about her comrades?

The Hyuuga heiress quickly darted out of the school, and began to survey her surroundings. Kakashi, Ibiki and TenTen were fending off the snake, while Neji and Sasuke were fighting with Deidara. No other enemies were seen besides this two, she approached the field with caution, knowing full well that other Akatsuki members were here with the Sound. She activated her Byakugan and took out her gun from the holster.

"Well well, if it isn't the one who cried over the Kyuubi." A voice from behind her said, making her whirl around, pointing the gun to the person's face. Her eyes widened and her hands trembled, holding the gun was taking an effort now, his eyes narrowed and he chuckled. Hinata jerked her hand away when Orochimaru tried to grab her gun, she pulled out her dagger and launched it to his face, but he manage to avoid it.

Just as he was about to grasp her hand again, a kunai shot through in between both of them, and Orochimaru was forced to take a step away from the pearled eye girl. Blue cerulean eyes glared at the snake man as Naruto pushed Hinata behind him, covering her from the sight of Orochimaru.

"Orochimaru…" he hissed, eyes turning red from anger. The snake man merely chuckled and brought out his Kusanagi from his mouth, making Hinata cringed at the sight.

"Come now Kyuubi, lets settle this once and for all. Akatsuki might snatch you away if I don't do anything now." Orochimaru smirked, making Naruto's blood boil. "And your little girl behind you might get hurt…"

Naruto's patience snapped when Orochimaru looked at Hinata, and he charged at him, whipping out his gun and katana. Hinata's Byakugan was still activated, and she ran towards Orochimaru too, aiding Naruto in this battle.

* * *

Itachi and Shisui were least to say, having fun. Sound members kept coming out no matter how they fired or slashed. Itachi panted, he was getting tired out from shooting and cutting. Shisui's breathing was heavy and he was having trouble aiming properly, his hands shook as he fired another round. The two Uchiha were back to back, facing their opponents who surrounded them.

"Hey Shisui…do you think we could…?"

Shisui raised an eyebrow, confused at first to what Itachi was trying to say, but when he saw Itachi's smirk, he caught on.

"Yeah. I think we should, using chakra wouldn't hurt right?" Shisui returned the smirk with one of his own. Both boys nodded, and their onyx eyes bleed red. They had been fighting without chakra so far, and without the Sharingan, which was a bloodline in the Uchiha clan.

"So that's why I couldn't fight properly. Che…" Shisui muttered as he darted forward, dragging his katana on the ground before swiping it upwards, cutting his opponent in half, turning to face another.

"No, you're just losing it." Itachi taunted, throwing a few shurikens towards three Sound members. Shisui made a clicking sound with his tongue and chuckled.

"Nah, I'm fine." He said, taking out a few more Sound members. Itachi looked at Shisui and they both stared at each other for a while. The enemies around them began to close in on them, not understanding what was going on. The two best friends suddenly smirked, taking out their guns, kunais and shurikens.

"First one to reach a hundred wins." Itachi said, after seeing Shisui nod, they immediately turned and started their competition.

* * *

Sakura huffed in irritation as Ino continued to pester her with questions on her and Sasuke. Shikamaru was busy fixing some kind of a gun, so he was saved from hearing all the things Ino was blabbing about. She sighed and drank her coffee, which Shikamaru had taken the liberty of going out to get it for her, just so he could take a break without Ino's voice ringing in his ears. He once said to her though, when Ino went out to the restroom, "Yeah she's my girlfriend and all, her voice is sweet, but hey, I need my ears for mission briefings and hearing you get it? Troublesome really…" the lazy genius had muttered all this, making Sakura giggle.

A beeping sound was suddenly heard from the monitor in front of them. Ino whipped her head around immediately, typing on the keys so fast that Sakura could hardly catch what she was doing. Shikamaru was concentrating hard on his work, so it seemed that he was confident Ino could handle whatever it was that was happening. The blond cursed under her breath and grabbed an earpiece beside the computer.

"Unit 12, get out there now! Medical attention needed on the school grounds, a grenade went off and some students were caught in it!"

Sakura gasp and Shikamaru finally looked up from his work. "How did the grenade go off?"

Ino continued typing. "Apparently, one of the Sound did it. He tried to overpower Itachi and Shisui." Shikamaru nodded and resumed his work, desperate to finish it by today. Sakura was horror struck; people were getting hurt because of her. The students don't even know what was going on! Ino noticed the girl trembling and turned to her.

"Look Sakura, this isn't your fault. I know innocent people are getting hurt, but it's how life is. I learnt it a long time ago, maybe you should learn it too."

Sakura said nothing, her eyes cast downwards and dull. She was blaming herself for all that was happening, all she ever wanted to be was a normal teenage girl, but one day an old man comes to her house to announce that she's the president's only granddaughter, making her life messed up. But no matter how she screamed or shouted or cried, reality was harsh, and it would be worse if she didn't accept the fact. Inside, a part of her knows that Ino was right, and that life is cruel, but another part of her denies the fact, and she doesn't know what to do.

"I…don't know…I just can't think anymore!" Sakura cried, her tears falling freely down her cheeks. Just a week ago, everything was fine. Her long lost friend Sasuke came back from overseas, thought they didn't get a good start. Just a few days ago, Neji was teaching her homework, and just a few hours ago, Sasuke had said he loved her. She shook her head, trying to clear her mind. Shikamaru looked away, feeling deeply sorry for the poor girl. Ino continued typing, trying not to cry, she knew how Sakura was feeling, but sympathy is the last thing anyone needs right now.

* * *

Neji dashed forward as Sasuke fired at the clay birds that Deidara sent out. The Hyuuga was mentally cursing at himself for falling right into the Akatsuki member's trap.

**-Flashback-**

"_Shit!" _

_Deidara punched Neji hard on the face, making him spit out some blood and dropping hard on the ground. He struggled to get up quickly, just as Deidara planted his leg downwards. Neji rolled to the other side, narrowly avoiding Deidara's kunai, when it struck him that an explosion tag was attached to it. _

_It exploded and Neji just barely got away from it. He coughed and squinted his eyes, trying to see through the thick smoke. A hand suddenly came straight for his face, and would have caught him if a bullet had not stopped it. Deidara yelled in surprise and pain, taking back his hand and clutching it in pain._

"_I see you need help, Hyuuga."_

**-End Flashback-**

Neji smirked at the memory of their captain appearing in time to save him from death. He could count the many times that Sasuke actually appeared right on time to save his comrades life, as if he knew what was going to happen. He shook the thought of and got into his kaiten stance. Sasuke was going to cover for him.

"_It's time we end this game!" _Neji thought and began spinning when Deidara was in his reach.

"Hakke Rokujuyon Sho!" he shouted, as he landed two blows on Deidara, who staggered to remain balance.

"_Four!" _He managed to make Deidara stumble, sealing off another four chakra points.

"_Eight!" _Deidara began coughing up blood, making Sasuke amused.

"_Sixteen!" _Neji smirked as the Akatsuki member coughing up more blood.

"_Thirty two!" _Almost done. (**A/N:** It's just like the song "1,2,3,4,5, once I caught a fish…. …ehehe…I'll stop crapping now…)

"_Sixty four!" _Neji thought, as he stop and watch the blond land on the ground with a hard 'thud'.

Sasuke smirked at his comrade's improvement, Neji was second to him in their team, though older, he prefered not to be their leader, as the Uchihas were the ones running the Konoha ANBU apart from the Hokage herself. Neji straightened himself and glared at the fallen Akatsuki on the ground, Deidara groaned and tried to get up, but no avail. Neji sighed and began binding him with chakra ropes, motioning for Sasuke to help the others.

"I'll get this one. Backup should be on the way by now." Sasuke nodded and turned to leave, spotting Naruto and Hinata who were engaged in a battle with the one he so longed to kill.

"Orochimaru…" he hissed, eyes turning red. It was time to 'repay' him.

* * *

"Last one down!" Shisui shouted, as he pulled his kunai out from the guys head. Itachi was doing the same, and they high fived.

"I guess it's a tie again eh?" Shisui asked, swinging his katana so that the blood would come off. Itachi shrugged and sheathed the blade, and jumped out of the way just before the snake's tail swiped at him.

"We can break the tie Shisui." Itachi smirked, pointing at the reptile that was busy with the other ANBU members. Shisui nodded and jumped swiftly all the way to the top of the head. He plucked out a grenade from his back pouch and a kunai. Itachi sighed, Shisui was getting hyper again. He stepped back from the scene, signalling Kakashi and the others to do so too. They nodded and backed off quickly, giving the signal to Shisui, who grinned like Christmas has arrived early. He drove the blade through the thick skin of the reptile, and it opened its wide mouth, hissing in pain. Shisui took the chance to stuff the grenade down its throat, and slid down the body of the snake.

_BOOM_

All heads on the battlefield turned, only to get rained by blood and pieces of the reptile's meat.

TenTen tried to wipe the disgusting slim of her, but it stayed on. "Eww…that's the last time I'll let Shisui blow up a reptile when I'm near…" she grumbled, and cursed when she saw Itachi and Shisui emerged from behind a tree, battered, bruised, but clean of the disgusting slime. Kakashi and Ibiki were not lucky too, as they were covered in it. Groans and curses could be heard throughtout the compound, but it quickly disappeared as the fightings resumed.

Orochimaru seemed unfazed that one of his summons was dead, and Naruto was confused.

"Hey snake bastard, one of your snakes got killed! No feelings?" he shouted, but Orochimaru just laughed.

"It was just a summon Kyuubi! It's useless if it can't fight!" he said, slicing Naruto's shoulder, making him winced in pain. Hinata tried to hit a chakra point, but Orochimaru was fast and kicked her in the stomach, making her fly backwards.

"HINATA!" Naruto shouted, adrenalin pumping into his system, he tried to reach her before she hit the tree.

"_I won't make it!" _he thought, and panicked. If Hinata was to hit the tree, her back would surely sustain serious injuries, judging by the speed she was going. A black blur suddenly appeared behind Hinata, catching her in time. Naruto breathed out in relief to see Sasuke holding Hinata, a stern look on his face and glaring at Orochimaru.

"It's been a while, sadistic bastard." Sasuke said through gritted teeth. Narutp pulled Hinata away from them, Kakashi and the others were already there, getting ready to attack, but Sasuke called them off.

"I'll handle him. Its my fight." Sasuke said, Naruto was hesitant at first, but he gave in with the rest and backed away.

* * *

Shikamaru sighed, holding the thing he was doing in front of him. Sakura peered over to look at it.

"A gun?" she questioned, as Shikamaru handed it to her.

"Yeah, custom made by me." Sakura looked at the gun closely. Ino was grinning.

"Sasuke asked Shikamaru to make this for you." She said, and smiled when Sakura turned to her.

"For me?" she asked, puzzled.

"It's completely automatic, all you have to do is fire. It has a tracking device installed in it, which will enable us to track you down if anyone kidnaps you." Shikamaru explained, as he took out a case which was attached to a belt. "And this, is your reloads. Plus the gun aims by itself, not really accurate, but it can still hit the target." Sakura nodded, clasping the belt around her waist.

"Its to protect yourself when Sasuke or any other ANBU aren't around." Ino said. "Though I highly doubt that will happen." She continued. Sakura nodded and placed the gun into the holster. "Thanks Shikamaru." She said, and made her way out.

"Sakura! Where are you going?" Ino asked. Sakura smiled at her.

"To make my own future, rather then to be protected from everything." Was all she said before heading towards the lift.

Shikamaru sighed and got up. He strapped his weapon pouch and gun holster on, and walked out.

"Tell them we're coming." And Ino nodded, speaking into the earpiece again.

"Haruno Sakura and Nara Shikamaru are heading to your place, TenTen."

* * *

**A/N: **w00t! I changed my style of writing a bit, making it longer. Hope you guys still like it!

**Sasuke:** Why do I have to save everyone? ((frown))

**Dark: **... ... Cause you're the team captain dobe.

**Sasuke: **I'm not a dobe, dobe.

**Naruto: **Hey! I'm the dobe!

((Silence))

**Naruto: **Did I just said what I think I said?

((Nods))

**Naruto:** Aww crap.

**Sasuke & Dark:** ((Laughs and rolls on the ground))

**Naruto: **((blush)) Whatever!! Pls review!!!!


	12. Chapter 12: The past

_**Thanks to those who reviewed!!**_

**andrea: **hahaz thanks!...actually I didn't intend for that scene...I just wrote it for fun! xD

**xXFreak-headXx: **hahahz!! maybe I'll do something like that...XD

**falling demon: **lolz! thanks!!

**bunnyandpuppylover: **lolz...in my fic they burn!!!!! wakakaka...

**lillypadlover2006: **hahahz...I'll try kayz?

**SDJ: **LOLZ...poor Naruto...kekeke...

**seguha: **XD

**pilar-ayesha: **hahahz!! tomato!!!!!! xD

**miyuki tsukada: **lolz...sorry. I normally put the romance scene at the back a bit.

**lunarrose23: **ehh? you mean Sakura is not liked? O.O

**onyx eyed kitten: **hahaz...its for precaution. Sasuke's really protective of her. xD yes after this there will be a arguement between Sasuke and Sakura...(spoiler) hehe...

**crazy-silly-me: **yay!!! hahahah!!! I love ur fics and drawing too!!!!!! (hugs)

_A/N: Okay I'm sorry I didn't update last week, I was away in Hong Kong, and I didn't have internet there. T.T I updated this one, it's longer then the normal chapters I write. I plan to continue writing like this. Not exactly of course. There's a few hints of SasuSaku here, hope it's okay. The next chapter will have more! I promise!!! Enjoy...

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**Chapter 12: The past**

TenTen was helping the medic team with the students who were injured in the fight just now, when she received the message from Ino.

"Wha?" She shouted, startled and making Neji look in her direction. Her hand was at the earpiece, presumibly talking to Ino.

"What do you mean!? No! She can't come! _Orochimaru_ is here!"

"I'm sorry, Shikamaru went with her. I've called the backup from the Sand, they'll be coming soon."

TenTen sighed and screwed her eyes shut, thinking hard. "Fine, I'll see to it that she's here with him. Yes, Neji and the others will take care of her." She turned to face the Hyuuga prodigy with a troubled expression. Neji raised an eyebrow.

"What's wrong?" he asked, voice laced with concern when he saw the look on the girl's face. The brunette hair girl frowned and placed her hands on her hips.

"Sakura is on her way here with Shikamaru." She said, noticing that Neji tensed when she said 'on her way here'. He glared slightly at the earpiece she had in her hand and took it from her roughly.

"Ino, what is the meaning of this." The Hyuuga said, demanding an explanation from the blond. She sighed and rubbed her temples, once he got worked up it was hard to calm him down, especially if it involved Sakura. She sighed again and continued her work, all the while talking to Neji, explaining what had happen during the past hour.

* * *

Shikamaru glanced at the pastel haired girl beside him, they had been running for a good fifteen minutes, and yet she looked fine, very unlike those spoiled brats he babysitted on missions. She noticed him looking at her and shot him a questioning glance. He shook his head.

"It's nothing, just that…I thought since you found out you're the president's granddaughter, you'd act like those spoiled rich kids." Sakura snorted at this, which was very unlady like, and made Shikamaru chuckle. He halted for a while after that, signaling Sakura to do the same.

"What's wrong?" she asked. He didn't answer, but he held up a hand and motioned her to give him her gun. She complied. He checked it for the last time and held it up to her.

"Listen Sakura, I'm sure you're not use to fighting or killing, but now is not the time to think too much about it. If an enemy goes for you, just pull the trigger. We don't want you getting hurt, but don't go shooting your own allies, got it?"

He received a nod and they set off again, not knowing what was awaiting them at the battlefield.

* * *

Itachi and Shisui were on a tree, watching as Sasuke stood opposite of Orochimaru, who had his hand on Kusanagi. Kakashi had ushered Ibiki, Anko, and the others to secure the place, so that no one would approach the school grounds, now turned into a battlefield. Itachi and Shisui were to stay with Sasuke, in case anything should go wrong. Sasuke was controlling his rage within him, fighting the urge to just charge, but as an ANBU, he knew that a direct assault would cause him death.

His grip on his gun tightened and sweat rolled down his face, Orochimaru was still smirking at the teen's hesitation on attacking. Why couldn't he move? The monster in front of him was what made him suffer for 7 years, who made him a cold blooded killer before he was rescued by his friends, so why couldn't he make a move?

_**Because you're afraid…**_

Sasuke blinked. _"What?"_

_An image of a cherry blossom tree flashed before his eyes. A girl, not more then twelve was standing below it. Her hair was pastel pink and eyes were as green as emerald, she held her hair in a half ponytail and was wearing a white kimono, decorated with cherry blossom patterns. She turned to smile at him, a blush adoring her cheeks, making her look beautiful under the sun's gaze. _

_Flash_

_The pink haired girl stood beside a young Sasuke, staring at the sun setting in the horizon. When she smiled, he felt like time stopped and couldn't take his eyes off her._

_Flash_

_He sat there, bloodied and bruised. She was tending to his wounds. He winced when she applied some ointment on the deep gash on his back, she furrowed her eyebrows and mumbled an apology._

"_Why do you apologize?"he said, a statement more then a question._

_She shrugged. "I just do…"_

_He sighed and placed his face onto his palms. "I just wish…I could get out of here…"_

_The pink haired girl sat opposite him. "Why don't you?"_

_He shook his head. "I don't know."_

_She pressed her lips together and stared at him with sad eyes. "Because you're afraid…"_

_His head snapped up. "What!?" _

_She winced at the venom in his tone, but she knew him enough to know that he wouldn't hurt her. "You're afraid…" she repeated softly. "Afraid you'd get hurt, have no place to go, and…no one to care for you…"_

_Sasuke's eyes was threatening to turn red, but looking at the fragile girl in front of him, he realized that she was right. That was all the things he was afraid of, why hadn't he noticed?_

"_Aa…I guess so…"_

_She brightened up after that, smiling at him and continued to ramble on how her day was, and how he shouldn't wear his mask that covered half his face._

"_But you shouldn't be afraid…" she said, turning around to face him as she was walking away. He stood there, looking at her with a questioning glance._

"_Because I'll always be there when you need me." She said, smiling brightly and a blush on her cheeks. She hurried away before he could reply._

_Flash_

_Sasuke stood on the edge of the cliff, staring at the multiple cuts he inflicted on his arms. The girl was stroking the scars softly, murmuring something. _

"_Why…do you do this?" she asked softly. He lowered his eyes to her sad ones._

"_Because no one sees me." He stated simply. She brought his hand to her face, startling him with the touch._

"_I'll see you when no one does…" she said sadly. He stared at her, shocked._

"_Even if the whole world turns against you, I'll be by your side…"_

_Flash_

_He pulled the scarf around his neck higher to cover his already masked face. She giggled at him, which earned her a questioning look._

"_I would love to see your face, even if just once."_

_He shrugged. "I can't show you. Isn't seeing my eyes enough? How can you trust me?"_

_She giggled again, this was the first time he asked so many things in one sentence._

"_I've never doubted you, I trust you. I can't explain why, I just do."_

_The sun was setting, and he was still standing under the cherry blossom tree where they met. She stood beside him._

"_Aren't you suppose to be heading back soon?" Sasuke asked her, she shook her head, and leaned on his shoulder._

"_You're…so alone…I'll be with you as long as you want me to…"_

_Sasuke said nothing, but inside, he was touched by the girl's words…_

_Flash_

_The girl was holding a bag, a sad smile on her face, and a plane could be seen behind her. _

"_I'll never forget you." She said, holding out something for him. Sasuke took it and handed her something too. He pulled his hood down more to prevent it from flying due to the strong wind that blew. She placed the object he had given to her in her bag. She turned to him who smiled slightly at her._

"_You know…it's unfair. I've never seen your face all the time I've spent here."_

_He smirked and shook his head. "I'm not suppose to show you."_

_She cocked her head to the side. "I don't even know your name."_

_He shrugged. "I don't know yours either."_

_She giggled. "Cause you won't tell me."_

_He sighed. "I'll tell you the next time we meet. I'm positive we'll meet again."_

_She nodded. "I know, I can tell too."_

_And she was gone._

Sasuke smirked after recalling some events he vaguely remembered during his stay at Orochimaru's. he had met a girl with pink hair, who was on vacation there, New York. Strangely, the girl reminded him of Sakura…

"SASUKE!" his brother's shout snapped him out of his daydream and he narrowly avoided a kunai that was thrown in his direction. He cursed loudly and aimed his gun at the snake in front of him, only to have his gun knocked away and a senbon drove into his left shoulder.

* * *

Itachi watched as his brother battled with the snake nin. He saw how Sasuke hesitated, and how he suddenly had a far off look in his eyes.

"_He was thinking about the past…" _he thought, mentally cursing the stupidity of his brother to think about that at this type of time.

Shisui was holding on to his sniper, ready to snipe Orochimaru if he made a move to escape. He gritted his teeth when he saw how Orochimaru landed a punch on Sasuke's jaw, and a kick to his stomach. Sasuke had been too distracted in the beginning of the battle to properly counter Orochimaru's attacks.

Itachi sighed but stood his ground, knowing that his brother wouldn't forgive him if he intruded the battle that was his. The two Uchihas could only watch as Sasuke swallowed the pain and blood to continue the battle.

* * *

Sakura panted as she and Shikamaru stopped in front of the school gates. Before they reached, they had seen a few ANBU members securing the perimeter, making sure no one comes within a hundred yards of the school. Police forces were also held back, as the Hokage had more authority then them.

She saw Tenten and Neji running towards them, both wearing concerned expressions. Shikamaru muttered a 'troublesome' under his breath and walked towards them, Sakura behind him. Neji and Shikamaru exchanged a few hurried words and started heading towards the forest, while Tenten talked to Sakura.

"Sakura, your gun…?" she asked, and Sakura held up the gun Shikamaru gave to her. Tenten nodded and gave her a weapon pouch.

"In case you lose your gun." Sakura smiled gratefully and strapped the object around her right thigh. She had taken some classes in martial arts and weapons for seld defense before, but never thought she's have to use it. She straigthened up and nodded at Tenten, who started running, making Sakura follow her.

Neji and Shikamaru stopped at the tree where Itachi and Shisui were on. Shisui looked down to see the two prodigy, he smirked a bit, relieve that they came. But his eyes widened in shock when he saw the president's daugther heading towards them with Tenten, he yanked his partner's ponytail, which made Itachi almost fall from the tree. The Uchiha sent a dangerous glare to Shisui's direction before turning to see what he had been looking at. His face remained the cool expression, but he glared at Shikamaru and Neji, demanding an explanation.

"She wanted to come. Make her own future instead of being protected to do nothing." Shikamaru said, yawning.

Itachi was angry, but he let it go because he thought since most of the elite ANBUs were here, they could protect her. Oh how_ **wrong**_ he was going to be.

* * *

Sasuke coughed out some blood after receiving a hit on the stomach by the hilt of Kusanagi. Orochimaru chuckled as the young Uchiha struggled to get up, rubbing the side of his mouth with his sleeve. The snake like man's narrowed eyes look up to see the elite ANBUs with the pink haired girl who was looking at Sasuke with worried eyes. He smirked in victory, knowing exactly how he was going to carry out his plan, life was sweet for him, as they put it. He walked slowly towards the Uchiha, who was trying to stand up but failing.

"My my…Sasuke-kun…helpless and weak? Kukuku…" he mocked, unaffected by the intensed murderous glare that was sent his way. Sasuke's eyes were spinning red, but Orochimaru still seemed unfazed. He bent down and placed the blade beneath Sasuke's chin, tilting his head up. As Sasuke glared at Orochimaru's eyes, the words of the girl in his past kept echoing in his head.

_**Because you're afraid…**_

His eyes widened, trembling slighty.

_**No one to care for you…don't worry, I'll always be there when you need me **_

Sakura noticed his trembling and took a step forward.

_**I'll see you when no one does…**_

He gritted his teeth, ignoring the pain when Orochimaru dragged the blade across his neck, drawing blood from the shallow cut.

_**Even if the whole world turn against you, I'll be by your side…**_

She walked forward again, only to be held back by Neji.

_**I'd love to see your face, even if just once.**_

He slowly turned to see what Orochimaru was chuckling at.

_**I've never doubted you. I trust you.**_

Sakura's eyes widened at the look Orochimaru was sending her.

_**I'll be with you as long as you want me to.**_

It sent chills down her spine.

_**I was happy, even if for a while. I'm glad I came on this vacation.**_

Neji pushed her behind him.

_**The times we had…can never be replaced…please remember that, stranger.**_

Sasuke saw pink, and saw the snake man raise his arm that held the blade.

_**At least remember my name?**_

Orochimaru threw Kusanagi towards the elites.

_**Its…**_

Neji avoided it, pulling Sakura down with him, but they didn't see Kabuto behind the bush, who dashed out when Kusanagi was thrown, snatching Sakura from Neji's grip, and the other ANBUs who were so shock couldn't react. Sasuke's eyes widened and he scrambled to get up, not noticing that Orochimaru had disappeared after throwing Kusanagi.

"SAKURAAAAAAAAA!!!!!"

_**It's a match to my hair they say, cherry blossom of spring.

* * *

**_

**A/N:** Yeah...sorry not much SasuSaku either in this chap. I'll do more in the next one, I promise!!

**Sasuke:** Yeah right.

**Dark:** ((glare)) You want me to make you **GAY**?!

**Sasuke:** O.O

**Dark:** mwahahahahahahah ((gets hit on the head))

**Sakura:** Don't scare Sasuke-kun!

**Sasuke:**Wha...I'm NOT scared!!

**Dark:** ((rubds head)) I'll be making both of you gay and les...((mumble mumble))

**Sasuke,Sakura:** O.O Holy.../Meep!!!

**Dark:** ((kicks them out)) review please!!! xD


	13. Chapter 13: Retrieval

**_Thanks to those who reviewed!!_**

**LunarRose73: **hehe thank you!! xD

**seguha: **XD

**kmkoolj2010: **hahaz!! horror? xD

**CrAzY-SiLLy-Me: **LOLZ!! teh horror fer them!! XD I love cliffys, don you? xD make sure u update soon!! (hugs)

**yukibozu: **chill!!! XD no wonder never see you around...hahhaz! yesh Sakura gets kidnap! now i'm stuck on how the battle should go...kekekeke...yeah!! I like that too!! xD

_**A/N: **Yeah well its gonna be new year soon, which means I won't have internet access, so I plan to update as soon as I can. This chappie is a lil short though, so bear with me fer now! I'll have the next one up soon!!! _

**

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**Chapter 13: Retrieval **

The Headquarters was in chaos, Tsunade had every single available ANBU tracking down the president's granddaughter. Shikamaru, Ino, Shino and Chouji were in the lab, Itachi, Shisui, and a few other Uchiha were checking the forest, Neji, Sasuke, Naruto were trying to see if they could follow Kabuto's trail. Hinata and Tenten were securing the school compound. Classes were stopped until the damages were repaired. Even after a few days, there was no trace of Haruno Sakura, Sasuke sat and stared bluntly at the ground. Naruto and Neji couldn't do anything, they tried to comfort him, but that only made him lash out, yelling that it was his fault Sakura was kidnapped, if only he wasn't too focused on Orochimaru, he forgot his purpose of being her bodyguard.

"_I'm so stupid…" _Sasuke thought as he let his body fall down onto a bench in the park. He let his eyes wander to his surroundings, seeing the kids play and adults talking. Some teenage girls were checking him out too. He let out a frustrated sigh and leaned back, looking up at the clouds.

_**Not everything is about power.**_

He groaned, his past was haunting him again.

_**Honestly, you think you can become stronger because of revenge?**_

He shook his head. He did not need all this lecture from the past right now, much less from a younger Sakura. Yes, he remembered that Sakura was the one who spent her vacation in New York. It was strange though, how he never recognized her, the pink hair made is obvious, but he was probably too bent on revenge to notice it. His expression darkened on the thought of his revenge, how he had craved for power which he thought he could not achieve if he had stayed with the ANBU. Naruto had changed that thought when he and the others came barging in Orochimaru's hideout seven years after he joined, to be met by a Chidori from Sasuke. Even though he nearly killed the blond, he somehow manage to snap him out of it and dragged his sorry ass all the way back home.

_**Protecting and love…makes a person stronger you know. It might sound cheesy or stupid, but I know it's the truth.**_

He blinked. Slowly remembering all the pieces of his thoughts on the past when Sakura had been talking to him.

_Sakura sat down, her back facing him as he adjusted the bandages that were freshly wrapped around his wrist. She looked back to see him standing up, hatred and anger still in his eyes. _

"_Why…do you do the things you do?"_

_Her soft voice startles him, but he does not let his cool mask slide of his face. After all, he was an Uchiha who always wore an expressionless façade up. Though truth to be told, he never liked that rule one bit. _

"_Power." He stated simply, making the young girl gap at him. _

"_Power? Not everything is about power, do you know that?" she shot back, frowning at his choice of answer._

_He shrugged. "I need power for revenge. My thirst for revenge is what keeps me going, and what makes me strong."_

_She shook her head. "Honestly, you think you can become stronger because of revenge?"_

_He growled, irritated by this girl who he had just met a few days ago. Why the hell was he talking to her anyway?_

"_Yes. I do believe so. What else is there that can make me stronger? Emotions are useless, I've told you before."_

_Her eyes softened as she looked at the masked boy before her, even at a young age she could sense the smell of death that lingered on him. She smiled sadly._

"_Protecting and love…makes a person stronger you know. It might sound cheesy or stupid, but I know it's the truth." She said quietly, making him snort at her words._

_He never gave those words a second thought, not until he met her again, realizing that he loved his childhood friend._

He stood up quickly, determination on his face. He had to find Sakura, and he had to do it fast. He cursed himself for being so caught up in his own thoughts that he did not once think about what she was feeling right now. He ran all the way back to headquarters.

* * *

Sakura moaned softly as her hand reach up to touch her sore head. She stopped when she heard noises as she moved her hand, realizing that her hands were in chains. She looked around, finally remembering the events. Orochimaru throwing his sword, Neji pulling her down, and Kabuto grabbing her from him. She shook her head, trying to get rid of her dizziness, Kabuto had placed a cloth over her mouth and nose while he carried her, making her unconscious, and making her dizzy.

"Well well, you're awake."

She froze, not daring to breath or turn her head to the owner of the voice. The voice that sent chills down her spine, making her wish she was dead instead of facing the person, or rather monster behind her. Before she could contemplate on doing something, a hand grabbed her shoulder roughly and turned her around, yellow slit eyes burning into her emerald ones. She flinched when his cold hands traced her cheeks to her jawbone, making her feel disgusted at being touched by him. He suddenly lifted his hand and slapped her hard across the face, resulting in her stumbling back and hitting her head against the cold hard floor. She gritted her teeth to stop herself from screaming, but she could not stop the tears that leaked out of her eyes.

"You should learn to handle pain so long as you're here princess." Orochimaru spat and laughed like a maniac. Sakura trembled, praying hard that Sasuke would come soon.

* * *

Sasuke snapped his head up all of a sudden, startling his group members that were with him in the meeting room. Naruto, who sat beside him, waved a hand in front of the raven haired boy's face. Sasuke blinked and turned to see all eyes on him, questioning him.

"It's nothing…" he mumbled, resuming his sit and continued to explain the details of the plan. They had found Orochimaru's hideout, and were coming up with a plan to invade it. Shikamaru had obviously devised a plan, so he and Sasuke were going through the details. Neji and Naruto had previously been shocked when Sasuke had burst through the headquarters door, almost ramming into them. He had demanded they tell him all the information they had collected and they, for once in their life (well, Neji actually) had been terrified of the look on their Captain's face that their sentences came out in stutters.

Sasuke had rolled his eyes then, knocking their heads together, which earned him death glares from the blond and browned haired boy. He smirked and helped them up, asking them to meet him in the meeting room with the others.

So here they were, Sasuke scanned his eyes around the room. There was Tsunade, talking to the Kazekage, Gaara. Temari and Kankuro sat by their side, Tenten, Ino and Hinata were busy talking on something about the security, Itachi and Shisui were listing down the weapons they would need while he, Neji, Naruto and Shikamaru were finalizing their plans.

"Okay, so we'll go through here, knock out most of the guards, according to Shino there's only a few here." Shikamaru stated, pointing to some places on the map.

"And we suspect Sakura is held here," he said, pointing to a room located at the back. "As it's the dungeon I think. Orochimaru and Kabuto would most likely be close by."

Sasuke nodded, calculating the distance and time they would need if they wanted her out as quickly as possible. He didn't want her to stay in there any longer then she needed.

"_And I only manage to say I love her once before this had to happen."_ He thought, getting irritated.

* * *

Sakura half opened her tired eyes and looked around. It had been at least three days since she was here, and still no sign of Sasuke. She groaned when she tried to move, she received beatings from the Sound girls here who were all annoyed at her pink hair. They said it was too 'girlish' and proceeded to beat her senseless. Luckily for her, Kabuto would heal her, but not too much. Her body had visible bruises and cuts that were getting worse for not getting the right treatment, but then again, they wouldn't let her die yet, she was a valuable asset to them. She sighed, frustrated and thinking about the time when Sasuke had practically shouted 'I love you' when the lift door had closed.

"_He kissed me…"_ she thought, smiling a but. _"I wish he was here…" _

Just then, the door burst open.

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**A/N: **Yeah it's a bit short this time...T.T I'll make the next one longer too!

**Sasuke:** That's what you said about more SasuSaku this chapter too...

**Dark:** Well, I have to write faster...and you seemed out of place.

**Sasuke:** (gasp)

**Dark:** Joking Sasuke!!! xD Alright! the next one is where Sasuke gets Sakura home spoiler man...


	14. Chapter 14: The battle

_A/N:__ Thanks to those who reviewed!! I know it's another chapter fast, so there are not much reviews to reply to. xD I plan to finish this story before school starts, because I will not be on the computer daily like now. So this is the next one, it still has 2-3 more chapters before its done. Me hopes y'll still leave me reviews pls! Looking forward to more reviews!! Thanks fer all the support!_

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_**Chapter 14: The battle**_

Sasuke, Naruto, Neji, Shisui and Kakashi were in charge of getting Sakura out of the dungeon. Itachi, Shikamaru and Ino were to be lookout and first offense team that went out. Temari, Kankuro, Hinata and Tenten were to back up Sasuke's team. Tsunade had informed them that another back up would be sent as soon as they formulated a team. Ino had sighed at this, as though she couldn't wait for the back up to arrive.

"_Maybe it's someone she knows." _Shikamaru had grumbled earlier, it was clear that he knew who the back up was. Temari had giggled when he said that, and tried to soothe her boyfriend, apparently, he wasn't fond of the person.

Meanwhile, Ibiki, Anko and two new teachers that Sasuke saw, Kurenai and Asuma were busy surrounding the compound.

"_It will be the last battle, where we'll put and end to Orochimaru's crazy antics." _

Tsunade had said during her speech. A lot of cheers were given, but it died down because all of them knew many lives would be sacrificed if they could not help it, but Sasuke was determined to not let any of his team members die.

"In position…" a voice crackled out of his earpiece. Sasuke nodded to the four behind him, signaling them that the attack was about to begin. They nodded back and took out their guns, kunai and shuriken. Sasuke smirked.

"This, will end it all." He said to himself, watching as Shikamaru, Itachi and Ino began their attack, taking out two guards at a time. The guards couldn't even find the time to alert the others, as Itachi and Shikamaru gave them a death blow before anything, and Ino was using her mind jutsu to confuse the enemies.

"Sasuke, now!" Itachi shouted while shooting a sound nin in the head and throwing a shuriken at another. Shikamaru was holding down at least ten sound nin as Ino gave the signal to release them, shooting them with two guns without missing a beat.

Sasuke dashed out immediately, not waiting to see if the others follow, they knew well enough of their duty, and would not hesitate to act on it. Tenten, Hinata, Temari and Kankuro had already joined the battle, seeing that Shikamaru's team had troubles, sound nins kept appearing out of nowhere, shocking them. Shino had not included this in their information, but then again, at least they were having another back up sent.

Naruto banged the entrance metal door opened together with Neji, and they made their way through a maze. Rows and rows of cells could be seen as they walked down the deserted path. Many had names carved on the door, and most of them were scratched out too. Sasuke glared at this, how he loathe the place. He couldn't wait to set this so call 'home' in flames, thinking about the time he spent here only made him sicker. Kakashi stopped all of a sudden, in front of a cell that looked like someone punched the metal to break in, or out. Naruto and Neji halted too, staring at their sensei like he lost his mind or something. Sasuke just stared at the door coolly, Kakashi said nothing, but continued to inspect the door.

The name 'Uchiha Sasuke' was carved on the door, and multiple amounts of scratches, no doubt made by a kunai was on it. Kakashi shook his head, and continued down the path, with Naruto and Neji behind him. Sasuke however, lingered behind.

"_This is your new room Sasuke-kun." Orochimaru said, leading a 9 year old Sasuke to a dark blue room. Sasuke went in slowly, inspecting it._

"_It had all you need, ranging from weapons to clothes and to scrolls." He continued, studying the look on the young Uchiha's face. The onyx eyed boy said nothing and continued to flip through some books on the table. Kabuto, who stood beside Orochimaru smirked when the boy smiled a bit. It looked like Sasuke liked the idea of his room. _

He glared menacingly at the door, his 'home' for seven years, before walking down the path to catch up with the others. He swore to come back later, as he remember suddenly that he had left something behind when his friends dragged him back to Konoha.

"_I'll never forget you." She said, holding out something for him. Sasuke took it and handed her something too._

_Sasuke placed the choker the girl had given him in a secret compartment under the desk. The choker was dark blue, very much like him and it held a silver cross on it. She had always said that he was like the night, so she bought him that, silver to represent the moon and blue to represent him. It didn't make sense, but he was grateful all the same. _

He hesitated a bit, before turning back and opening the door. Naruto and the others would be fine without me for a while, he thought. He pushed the door lightly and peeked his head inside, sighing to himself as he remember all the studying and practice he did by himself here. He crossed the room to the all so familiar desk and ran his hand under the table, searching for the compartment. His hand reached a crack and he smirked. Looks like no one found out, he pulled out a choker, though a bit dusty, he could still see the words engraved on it.

_To the lone wolf who helped me._

_-Sakura_

He chuckled to himself, never figuring out why the girl had called him a lone wolf. He wore the choker around his neck and darted out, thinking that he had let the past get to him too long, he loaded his gun and ran down the path, deciding to think about it later.

Shisui was cursing, Sasuke had disappear without telling them anything, but Neji had said that Sasuke was in his old room, so he calmed down a bit. Kakashi said nothing still and proceeded like nothing was amiss, until Naruto nudged him.

"Kakashi-sensei…" he said, pointing to a door that labeled 'Sakura'. Neji cringed in disgust.

"They gave her a room…but it seems less welcoming then Sasuke's…" he said, activating his Byakugan. Just then, Sasuke came to a stop beside them. Shisui nodded his head, in to which Sasuke smirked at. He glanced up to see what they were looking at, and his temper exploded. Without waiting for another word, he kicked the door opened, surprising everyone but him.

* * *

Sakura laid there in shock, in her state, she couldn't make out who it was that had barged in, her vision was out of focus and she had trouble even thinking. Every breath she inhaled sent a jolt of pain down her throat, they had beaten her a little too much the previous day. She made to get up and backed away further into the room, thinking that it was the girls trying to beat her again, when she felt two warm hands pulling her to her feet and into an embraced. 

"Sakura!" the person called, making Sakura blink. She was so tired that she could barely register the fact that the someone was now carrying her bridal style. She forced herself to look up, taking a lot of effort, but when she saw the familiar onyx eyes and raven black hair, she started crying. Sasuke smiled sadly, looking at the fragile girl in his arms, he mentally started planning on how to kill Orochimaru and Kabuto for making her suffer like this.

"It's strange. We got her and it seems too easy." Shisui said quietly, and Neji agreed.

"I thought Orochimaru or Kabuto would have been keeping a close watch on her, isn't she of value to them?" Neji asked, earning a glare from Sasuke for indicating that she was an item. But Kakashi had to nod.

"I suggest we be more alert, who knows what that snake is up to. Neji, you take the back with Naruto, Shisui and me will lead the way. Sasuke, make sure she's safe."

Nods were seen and the formation was form. Sasuke walked slowly and carefully with Sakura in his arms, and she snuggled into his warmth, making him grinned a bit. Naruto and Neji who could see what was happening in the back, smirked and shook their heads. As Sasuke could not hold his weapon, the four was to protect them at all cost, especially Sakura.

* * *

Outside however was not as peaceful and easy as it was inside. Itachi was struggling with the sound nins, outnumbering him 50 to 1. He had no idea how Orochimaru had managed to gather up so many nins in just a year. Shikamaru, Ino, Tenten, Hinata, Temari and Kankuro were not doing any better. Hinata was lagging as her stamina was low, Kankuro and Temari had pretty much used up their chakra, same as Shikamaru. Ino was at a disadvantage for her mind jutsu was not safe to be used, so she used taijutsu to fight off the remaining ones. Tenten was running out of bullets and weapons, and was forced to fend the others off using her katana and short gun. Itachi sighed, frustrated and tired, he hoped Sasuke and the others would hurry up and also the back up they were to come. Just then, an ear splitting scream cut throughout the battlefield. 

"Ino!" Temari and Tenten whipped their heads to the blond's position. They were the nearest to her and they pushed their opponents back, trying to get to her. A sound nin was dragging her by the leg, her right hand was broken and she was using her other to get to her weapon pouch, but the nin who held her just laughed. Ino gritted her teeth in anger, reaching up to her hair that was in a bun, she took out a senbon and threw it at the nin's arm, making him shriek in surprise, dropping her. She smirked in satisfaction, before releasing a scream when he brought his knife down to her. She shut her eyes, praying that a miracle would happen. Tenten, Temari and the others watched in horror as the knife was brought down fast, the two girls could not reach her, and braced themselves for a gruesome sight, when a clash of metal was heard and a cool voice spoke.

"I would appreciate you not using those useless hands of yours to touch her."

Itachi smirked as he shot another nin, and sighed in relief as he watched the reinforcements arrive. Akimichi Chouji rammed into the nins in front of Itachi, earning a smirk from the Uchiha prodigy.

Sai stood in front of Ino, kneeing the sound nin that attempted to kill her in the gut, rendering him unconscious, and helped Ino up who threw her arm around him. Sai looked startled for a moment, before returning the embrace, lifting up his arm just to shoot another nin who was coming from behind.

"Sai! I thought it would be longer before I could actually hug you!" she cried, clutching his shirt. He sighed and chuckled to himself, patting the girl on her head softly. He threw another few kunais to the back, hitting 3 nins in the head accurately.

"As much as I'd like to kiss you Ino, the war is still going on around us. Can you do anything about your hand?"

Ino nodded and healed her broken arm, and smiled at him, who gave her a sincere smile in return. They turned around and started helping the others.

* * *

Sasuke had brought Sakura into his old room, despite the protest of Sasuke himself. 

"It's not safe here!" he said through clenched teeth to Kakashi, who had said that Sakura needed to be treated first.

"If we take her out there, she must at least be healed enough to run." Kakashi retorted calmly. His student's eyes flickered red before he turned and slammed the door. Neji, Naruto and Shisui had said nothing but stood in front of the door, guarding it.

"I'll be walking around to make sure Orochimaru is not here." He said, before taking off.

Sakura sat on the bed, glancing around tiredly, Sasuke had fetched a basin of water and cloth, trying to clean her up. She winced when he rubbed on a bruise, and he would curse under his breath, mentally killing the person who inflicted it on her. She smiled slightly at this, earning a questioning glance from him. She shook her head, and noticed the choker dangling from his neck. She lifted her hand and touched it, stopping Sasuke from his task.

"That choker…" she said, blinking back tears. Sasuke smiled at her.

"Yeah, from a girl I saved a few years back from being raped…" he said softly, holding her outstretched hand. She smiled brightly.

"I knew it…I suspected it was you, but you would never tell me your name…" she said, moving forward to embrace him. He returned the embrace immediately, stroking her head and taking in the scent of her hair, though now it smelled quite musty because of the cell she was in, he still smiled. She broke away, trying to stand up, but fell back towards Sasuke's arms. She blushed and looked at him, who just smirked. He leaned forward and kissed her softly on her lips, and she shyly kissed him back. Despite her being beautiful and attractive, Sakura had never kissed, let alone date anyone in her entire life. The only person she had ever kissed was her father and mother. She smiled at the thought, thinking how nice and safe it felt in Sasuke's arms. Sasuke rested his forehead on hers, and they both relaxed slightly, aware of the situation they were in.

"Sasuke! Orochi…" Naruto's yelled trailed off, replaced by a battle cry and the sound of gunshots and metal clashing. Sakura immediately stood up, ignoring the pain that seared through her. Sasuke swore and took out his gun, looking back at Sakura, he clenched his teeth.

"Sakura, stay here." She only nodded, terrified at the look on his face, one filled with so much anger and hatred, even more then the time she met him. She prayed for them to be safe as he walked out of the room and into the battle.

* * *

**A/N: **Weeeell... that's another chappie! 2 updates in a week! yay!!

**Sasuke: **Oh shove off it...

**Dark: **awww...but there's at least some fluff here?

**Sasuke: **... ... ...

**Sakura: **Yes! Thank you Dark-chan!

**Sasuke: **((blush))

**Dark: **((smirk)) Well, hope y'll enjoyed this chap! Presssss the button!!! review!! mwahahah! xD


	15. Chapter 15: Because

_**Thanks to those who reviewed!!**_

**CrAzY-SiLLy-Me**: LOLZ! Its gonna be like that fer a while... heheh Thanks!! xD

**aziongurl723: **hahhaz!! I thought it would be nice fer a change ya noe?? xD thankiess!

**seguha: **xD

**LunarRose73: **heheh I'm continuing it no worries!! XD thank you!! XD

**ForeheadKat: **XD

**SDJ: **Gaygood. xD yesh Sasuke gasp!! (insert ppl's eyes bulging out: THE Uchiha Sasuke gasp!! mwahahahha) Sasuke ish da weird...xD

**FreedomStar999: **w00t!! thankiess!!! xD

_A/N: Nyaa...been another week!!! hahaz...can't online that much cause school started already...but I get ma friend to upload ma drawings and story sometimes! I know some of them are a bit short, cause I really suck at writing fighting scenes, so I'm trying to rack my imagination fer it, forgive me!! xD trying ma best here!!_

* * *

  
**Chapter 15: Because...**

Sakura stared at the door slamming close, and the battle cries, metals clashing and gun shots being fired outside. Inside she was angry, she couldn't do anything, couldn't help the ones she love, she only gave them more trouble.

_Sakura stood by the edge of the cliff where Sasuke once stood. She was crying, and her hands were covering her face. Sasuke came from behind, gently grasping her shoulders and turning her to face him. _

"_What's wrong…?" he questioned, concerned flickered in his eyes. _

_She smiled through her tears and embraced him, shocking the onyx eyed boy. She still didn't know his name, yet she acted as if she knew him a long time ago. He stood there, letting her tears soak his clothes and yet, he did not budge. _

"_It's just that…I'm so weak at everything, unless you count studies…but I highly doubt it will help when it comes to protecting myself…"_

_Sasuke sighed. This was the third time she was crying for that. He messed up her hair a little, earning a 'hey' while he sat down on the damp grass beneath him. He raised his eyebrow at her when she stared at him._

"_You know…oh never mind." She said, plopping down beside him. _

"_What?" he asked. She just shook her head. "I'm just imagining things." _

_He nodded and did not ask further, for he was tired from his training, and he just wanted silence._

'_So why did you come here then?' A voice inside his mind whispered._

_Sasuke ignored it, fully knowing why he came here, to see her. _

"_You know…you don't have to protect yourself…" he said, startling the girl. _

"_Huh? Why not?" she ask. _

"_Because…"_

The wall she was looking at suddenly burst open, rocks hitting her and making her duck down below the bed. She cursed and looked up, seeing a gigantic snake that resembled the one that had appeared in school. Gasping, she hurriedly went to the door, which was right in front of her and yanked it open, to be met by a blur that was heading her way. She yelped and ducked again, realizing that the blur was actually Naruto, who had been hit by the snake, knocking him back towards the room.

"Damn that snake…" Naruto muttered as Sakura helped him up, which he grinned in return. Shisui appeared at the doorway, apparently he was looking to see if the two were alright.

"Hey Sakura, I found your gun!" he said, throwing the object at her. She caught it and smirked, grabbing her reloads from Shisui, who threw her a worried glance, she smiled.

"I want to help, even if I'm suppose to be protected." She said, making Naruto laugh.

"Nice Sakura! Now let's get out there and kick some snake butt!" he yelled, running into the battle once again.

Shisui aided Sakura, quickly wrapping more bandages around her wounds, and hoisting her up, joining the battle.

* * *

Itachi sat slumped on the ground, he was exhausted and looked at the Konoha nins as they rounded up the enemies. He smiled slightly, they had won, beaten the Sound nins. Ibiki, Anko, Kurenai, Asuma, Sai and Neji were heading down to check if Sasuke's team was alright. His look darken slightly, knowing what was awaiting them below. Orochimaru wouldn't easily be beaten, and he bet that those that went down would most probably be engaged in the battle. Still, his hopes were high that they would be victorious.

"Itachi-san, I have the reports on our numbers…" a Chunnin came up to him, handing him a scroll. He bowed and left, helping the others.

"78 injured…10 killed…" he muttered, putting the scroll aside, he sighed. They had lost 10 shinobi, medic nins could be seen hurrying up and down with fresh bandages, with Hinata and Tenten directing them to the injured. Ino lay on the ground, slightly irritated at not being able to move. Her arm had broke again, as she used it before the bone was mended properly. Shikamaru sat with Chouji, his best friend and was cloud gazing. Hanabi, Hinata's sister was tending to them. The pearled eye girl was muttering curses under her breath, as Shikamaru kept saying it was 'troublesome' to lift up his shirt to let her examine his wounds. Temari was clearing up the weapons on the ground with her Kuchiyose. Kankuro was talking to the Kazekage Gaara, who had just arrived and was telling him the current situation. The red head had immediately departed, going down the basement stairs.

* * *

Sasuke swore as he threw aside his gun, taking another out of his holder behind him. Naruto had been throwing kunais at Orochimaru, butit seemed to have little effect as he only reflected it back at them. Kakashi and Neji, though the Byakugan and Sharingan was activated, it didn't help much, for Orochimaru was on top of the snake's head and was laughing at their effort.

"Poor Konoha ANBUs, can't even defeat a snake!" he mocked. Naruto tensed, shooting at the snake's body, which proved futile for it bounced of the body. Suddenly, a hand holding a gun came between Sasuke and Naruto, shooting at Orochimaru's head. He moved his head aside, easily avoiding it. He smirked, looking at who decided to join the fun. Sasuke looked shocked when Sakura lowered her gun, smiling sweetly at him.

"Don't want this gun to go to a waste now would we?" she said calmly, and Sasuke just stared at her. Shisui nudged him, snapping him out of it.

"Sakura! It's dangerous! What do…" Sasuke said, but was cut of with a peck on his lips, shutting him up immediately. He blushed lightly and glared at the ground, cursing under his breath. Neji snickered, and Shisui smirked. Naruto laughed, but was cut short when the snake's tail came at them. Shisui grabbed Sakura and all of them jumped out of the way, as the tail crushed the cells around them. The ceiling was crumbling, it was going to collapse.

"Get out of here!" Kakashi shouted at the ANBU, and they darted out, but Orochimaru grabbed onto Shisui's leg, flinging him towards the wall. His back received a direct hit, injuring his spine. He coughed and unwillingly let go of Sakura, who fell to the floor with a 'thud'. She quickly turned so that her gun was pointed at Orochimaru, who was closing in on them. Shisui lay on the ground, groaning from pain. Sasuke doubled back when he saw Shisui being grabbed, while Naruto and Neji managed to escape and Kakashi had followed Sasuke, worried about Sakura.

Before any of them could register what was happening, Sakura pulled the trigger.

* * *

Sai ran down the steps, two at a time and would have rather jumped the whole way down then run. Sakura was his cousin, but he only met her once, when she came over to her grandfather's house. There it had been announced, that Sakura was Haruno Kamiyasho's one and only granddaughter, but he had other grandsons. He chuckled at the irony, Sakura was not introduced to any of her cousin brothers, but he knew the instant he saw her that she had taken after her mother. He saw her mother frequently, trying to persuade Kamiyasho to accept her husband, whom he saw as a 'mere commoner'. In the end only when her parents met with the car accident that took their lives, did Kamiyasho took interest in his granddaughter.

"_Typical Haruno I suppose…" _Sai thought to himself. _"Though I didn't know she was Ino's best friend…" _He recalled the time where Ino had shown her boyfriend pictures of them at school. He had almost laughed at the coincidence, and Ino stated it was, and giggled.

His head shot up, when he heard a gun shot go off. Naruto and Neji, who were heading towards them stopped too. Sai was seriously hoping that none of the ANBU were hurt. Kurenai met Anko's eye, and they increased their speed in heading down. Asuma and Ibiki were in front, while Sai stood in the middle, the girls and the other two at the back. But when the two men in front halted all of a sudden, Sai peered over their shoulders to look, and was shocked.

* * *

Sasuke stood still, not daring to look at Sakura, but at the snake man in front of him. His yellow slit eyes were wide with shock, and the snake he was on gave a sudden jerk, landing Orochimaru on the hard ground non too gracefully. Shisui was gaping at her, while Sakura held the gun close to her body, trembling when she realized what she almost done.

"I…shot…" her whole body shook and she was shaking her head. Kakashi rushed to her side, and Sasuke moved to cover them. The snake hissed in anger at being shot in the eye, and started towards them. Shisui gritted his teeth and hoisted himself up, using the wall as support. Kakashi took Sakura on his back, nodding to Shisui and darted to the side, leaving the two Uchiha with the snake. The ceiling was crumbling, and was about to give way any minute. Kakashi glanced worriedly towards them, and to the now small group at the stairs. Sai motioned for Kakashi to give him Sakura, and he did.

"Take her up. All of you, get out of here, the ceiling won't hold and its too dangerous to hang around here." Kakashi said, looking back at Sasuke and Shisui.

"But Kakashi! Sasuke and Shisui…!" Naruto started, but Ibiki held up a hand to silence him.

"Kakashi is right, Sasuke and Shisui can handle them. What's important now is to get Sakura to safety.

"Tsunade-sama is arriving shortly, she will be able to treat Sakura." Anko cut in, and Neji nodded.

"Hurry up now, there won't be much time." Kurenai said, going ahead. Sai followed shortly with Naruto, Neji and Asuma behind. Ibiki and Kakashi stayed, waiting for the two Uchiha.

Sasuke loaded his gun, and looked at Shisui.

"Shisui…your back…" he inquired, which he received a wave of his hand.

"I'm fine, won't interfere with this." He said, jumping to the side just as the snake rammed its head into the wall behind where they were standing just now. Sasuke smirked, Shisui was gritting his teeth again, to stop from yelling out in pain. He had to end this quick, or at least get Shisui out of here.

_Sasuke stood near the tree where they always meet, his body battered and bruised again, but this time for a different reason. He smirked, they had not seen it coming, when he suddenly turned his back and stabbed Orochimaru. The snake man had been shocked, but recovered quickly, battling with the young Uchiha as payback. He was victorious, of course, but Sasuke had just needed a more challenging fight, and he did not regret what he did. When Orochimaru asked why he back stabbed him, he just answered. _

"_Snakes are sneaky creatures…aren't they…" Orochimaru cackled at his answer, and left him to tend to himself._

"_Oh my god…" he turned his head to see Sakura covering her mouth with her hands. She quickly rushed over to him and started inspecting his wounds. _

"_What happened?" she asked worriedly, he just shrugged. She frowned but did not press further, wrapping his wounds in bandages that she brought. She had gotten use to this routine, seeing him injured every time. _

"_I tried to end it, but couldn't." Sakura looked at him, nodding slightly. She knew what he was talking about, he always talked about ending it with his 'master'. _

"_I know you'll do it, someday. I believe in you." She said, smiling up at him, and he smiled back at her._

'_I can do it this time!' _Sasuke thought confidently as the image of Sakura smiling at him flashed in his mind.

* * *

**A/N: **Yay! Sasuke's thinking bout her!! sry bout not having a lot of Sakura here...even made her a coward or sumthing...T.T she'll be back in battle in the next chappie!! ohh...and about the flashback when he said 'because' it'll be continued in the next chappie too!! aaaa...so mixed up...O.o

**Sasuke:** Hey! I got beaten up!?!

**Dark:** ... ... emm...the sky is very pretty don't ya think? ((avoids subject))

**Sakura:** aww!! I'm concern! I get to tend to Sasuke everytime?? ((giggles))

**Sasuke:** ... ...((blush))

**Dark:** ((grabs them by collar)) okay kiddies! enough! xD review pls pls yeah? xD


	16. Chapter 16: Hope

_A/N: Thank you so much to those who reviewed!! I'm sorry I didn't update weekly like I said I would. I was having a lil writers block, that's why I posted up** Walking with the Dead **instead. Well, I'm not completely off the writers block, but I felt I_** had**_ to update something this week, so this chap is a lil short, hope you still enjoy it and pls review!!! _

* * *

**Chapter 16: Hope**

Sai ran up the stairs with the fragile pink haired girl in his arms, she was out cold after the shock she had. He supposed it was because she almost killed a person. He mentally sighed, she was not use to this life, and she shouldn't have even step foot into their battlefield. Kurenai and Ibiki were in front of him, while Asuma and Kakashi ran behind him. Naruto and Neji had long gone, running up first as Kakashi had told them to report the situation to the Hokage.

"Konoha ANBU?" a voice said, and the front line halted. In front of them stood Gaara, the Kazekage. He was looking down at them, slightly concerned for the girl in Sai's arms. She looked so peaceful sleeping like that, though they didn't know, Gaara was Sakura's best friend back when she was in Sand Junior High.

"What's the situation?" the red head asked, as they urged him upstairs. Kakashi shook his head, but the others remained quiet.

"Not good. The ceiling is about to give way. Sasuke and Shisui are still down there fighting."

Kakashi looked older as he said that, as if a few years of life had been taken out of him. He was tired, physically and mentally, having to run everywhere. The others were too, but somehow, maybe it was because Sasuke was down there, he was like a son to him and he didn't want to lose anyone important anymore.

"I met Naruto and Neji on the way down, it seems that they made it safely outside." Gaara said, avoiding a big stone as it came down.

Kakashi nodded. "I told them to go ahead first, to report to Tsunade-sama."

* * *

Sasuke landed roughly on the ground, groaning in pain and clutching where the Orochimaru had stabbed him, at his side. Shisui was shocked, and pulled the trigger at Orochimaru while running to Sasuke. 

"Sasuke! Are you okay?!"

Sasuke gritted his teeth, sweat running down his face. It hurt, but it wasn't unbearable. He had been taught to take pain, grit his teeth and not shout out. He nodded his head after a while, Shisui was still firing his gun, making Sasuke wonder if it'll ever run out of ammo.

"We got to get you out of here, its kinda serious, and it's bleeding too badly." Shisui said, concern lacing his voice.

Sasuke shook his head. "No, we have to finish him now, right here. Sakura will be in danger if we don't!"

Shisui's Sharingan changed back to his onyx eyes, and he was panting heavily. His chakra was almost used up, and he didn't know if his back could get any worse. He stood up with effort, throwing kunais and shurikens instead of shooting. Orochimaru manage to avoid them all, and suddenly appeared in front of them.

"What's wrong Sasuke-kun? Can't take the pain?" he cackled, making Sasuke's Sharingan spin faster.

"Shut the hell up!" he yelled, pointing his gun at Orochimaru's head, only to have the bullet meet air as the snake moved away. He swore and got up, trying to ignore the stabbing pain at his side.

"Shisui, get out of here, the ceiling won't hold more then a minute!" Sasuke shouted over the rumblings, and Shisui nodded.

"Come on then!" he shouted back, pulling the younger Uchiha with him, but Sasuke dropped to his knees, the pain was getting worse, and he was feeling dizzy.

"Sasuke!" Shisui called. When the boy didn't respond, he glanced up, surprise to see Orochimaru running to the back of the basement. He didn't think twice and hoisted Sasuke onto his back, hissing in pain when his back protested. Sasuke was tuning in and out of conciusness, not really aware that he was on Shisui's back.

"We're getting out of here Sauske…" Shisui muttered, and he tried to run up the long stairway, avoiding the rocks that kept falling now.

* * *

Sakura opened her eyes to see the glaring sun in her face, when she noticed that she was lying down on someone's lap. She strained her head and looked up, seeing the familiar face of her best friend. 

"Ino…" she called out, and the blond's head snap down to look.

"Sakura! You're awake!" she cried, hugging Sakura's head. Sakura hit her hand as she did that, because she was suffocating. She glanced around, seeing Itachi on the ground with Shikamaru, who had Temari by his side. Tsunade was talking with a bunch of Chunnins, telling them how to clear up, Tenten was tending to Neji's wounds, Kankuro was using his puppets to check the dead enemies.

"Where's…Sasuke?" she asked, sitting up and looking around for the boy she love. Ino hesitated.

"He…he's still down there."

Sakura's eyes widened, she knew that the ceiling was giving way, and the meaning he was still down there meant he was in big danger. She hurriedly stood up, momentarily forgetting the shock of shooting someone right in the head. She grabbed her gun which was beside her, and started towards the basement stairs, when someone grabbed her hand.

"Wow Sakura, where do you think you're going?"

Itachi had her hand held fast in his, resulting in her unable to move. She shrugged, and smiled innocently.

"Nothing, just walking." She said casually, trying to cover that she badly wanted to run back and make sure Sasuke was fine. Itachi frowned.

"You can't go back there, it's collapsing even as we speak."

She paled, and turned to the direction of the stairs. Sasuke was down there, she had to go, even if it meant endangering her life.

"**_You know…you don't have to protect yourself…"_**

Her green eyes stared at the collapsing building, and the stairs that lead down where Sasuke was.

"_**I tried to end it, but couldn't."**_

Sasuke's smiled came back to her mind as Itachi pulled her back.

"_**I'll have the power soon…"**_

Chunnins and Sand ANBU were running away from the building that was already collapsing.

"**_I like- no, love you."_**

There was no sign of Shisui or Sasuke, even as they watch the building, which once stood tall and proud, go down under the surface of earth. Tsunade was shouting some commands, but they went unheard by Sakura, who was only thinking of one person.

Sasuke.

Itachi noticed the girl trembling, and Ino, who sprained her ankle was looking up towards the girl. Obviously these two knew what she was thinking, Sasuke was dead. Itachi pulled her towards him, embracing her.

"It's alright Sakura, Sasuke won't die so easily." He muttered, keeping his eyes on the ruins, as if expecting them to suddenly emerge and laugh, saying they defeated Orochimaru and that they were safe. But it never happened, it was just like the first time he disappeared, except this time, Shisui went with him.

"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura cried, her tears sliding down one after another on her face, and she did not make a move to wipe it. Tsunade had stop shouting, and was looking disappointed. Shikamaru, Temari and Kankuro were still going on about something, while Neji was trying to restrain Naruto from running to the ruins in search of his best friend.

"Naruto! Calm down!" Neji shouted, angry at the blond boy for being so rash. Naruto tried to ignore his words, but Hinata stepped in, hugging him, trying to comfort him. Naruto gritted his teeth, and looked at Sakura who was crying.

"Sasuke-teme will be back, ne Sakura?" he said, forcing a grin. Sakura stared at him through her blurred vision, and tried to smile too. He was right, he would, he just couldn't die, right?

"We can only…hope for the best." Itachi said, his eyes shut closed as in concentrating. He was trying to locate their chakra, even if just a little. He failed.

"What are you guys looking so down for?"

Sakura wiped her tears, and turned from Itachi, mouth slightly opened.

"Shisui!" Itachi said, while the others scrambled to come over. Shisui stood in front of them, on his back he had Sasuke who was half awake. He smirked slightly.

"You…didn't really…think I was…dead did you?" he choked, coughing after saying the sentence. Shisui immediately put him down and called the medics, and Tsunade came herself to tend to Sasuke. Sakura still stood there, dumbfounded while everyone else fussed over Shisui and Sasuke. Sasuke looked away from everyone, and focused on her.

"Sakura…" he muttered, catching her attention. Everyone looked at the pink haired girl, and she said nothing. He struggled to get up, even though Tsunade's hand was pressing his stomach, preventing him from moving. He extended his hand towards her direction.

"I'm back." He said, smiling faintly.

Sakura's tears slid down again, and she tackled him into a bear hug. Tsunade was taken back at this and smiled in amusement, while the others laughed. Sasuke stroked her hair as she cried into his blood soaked shirt. She didn't seem to care or not noticed, and Sasuke vaguely wondered if Sakura would get him back for this. But for now, nothing else mattered except the girl in his arms, even the people around him seemed to have been tuned out, leaving them in their own world. He kissed the top of her head and hugged her, before glancing up towards Tsunade.

"He's still alive."

_**"Because I'll protect you."**_

* * *

**Dark:** Short...T.T

**Sasuke: **You said it, how come I seem so weak, AGAIN?!

**Dark:** Well ya see...this...urm...well...SAKURA'S HERE!

**Sasuke: O.o**

**Sakura:** ... ...I've been here all the while Dark...

**Dark: **T.T I've been goin crazy this whole week...no humor left in my brain. **  
**

**Sakura: **((pats Dark)) it's okay! there's still the next chappie!

**Sasuke:** Hn...if she doesn get me beat up I'm satisfied.

**Dark: **((glares)) right, I'll make you gay then.

**Sasuke:** swt...er..pls review!!


	17. Chapter 17: Finale

_**Thanks to those who reviewed!!**_

**ForeheadKAT**

**seguha**

**2supersmart**

**LunarRose73**

**xXFreak-headXx**

**CrazyGirlOfManyNames**

**sallyluv16**

**LittleAngelGirl97**

**paintupurple: **Hahaz yeah I wanted Obito in too, but it was kinda hard to fit him...xD**  
**

**blueorchids961 **

**CrAzY-SiLLy-Me: **Sasuke seems immortal ne ?? I planned it a diff way, but came out like this..ah well..xD

**amanda**

**SDJ: **He won't!! xD I'll make him gay...((jumps around)) Thats the same thing I always say...O.o**  
**

**Miyuki Tsukada**

**Stargaze16: **Maybe! xD

_A/N: Yeps this is it! The Finale for **Secrets that Never Existed**! Thank you so much for all of your reviews and I hope you guys will read and review my other stories!! After this I'll be focusing on my other story '**Walking with the dead**'. I got another chapter which is half written in my com! Anyways, to the story!! Enjoy!_

* * *

**Chapter 17: Finale  
**

Days and weeks had pass since the day of the battle. Blood was shed that day, and sacrifices were made. 10 shinobi were killed during the fight with the Sound shinobi, and another 20 died while we were investigating the ruins. It appeared that Orochimaru had planted explosives and bombs which could explode even after the building collapse. Even after the death of 20 people, Sasuke and his team continued to dig through it, but we couldn't find anything, let alone anyone.

At Konoha High, a young girl with pink pastel haired stood waiting under a cherry blossom tree. Her two hands were bandaged heavily and she held her bag while leaning on the tree. Her emerald green eyes scan the area for the company she was waiting for.

"Sakura!"

She turned her head, and smiled when she saw a raven haired boy running towards her. Behind him was his brother and his best friend.

"Sasuke-kun, you're late." Sakura said, smiling.

Sasuke nodded. "Sorry, the meeting went on later than I thought it would be."

Sakura hugged him and kissed him on the lips lightly, as there were others around watching them. Naruto grinned and hugged Sakura too, as today would be the last day they could spend together.

After the finale battle with Orochimaru, Kakashi had informed Sakura that her grandfather wanted her to fly to the States in order to start her training. Gaara, the Kazekage himself would be escorting her on the flight. The Sand ANBU would be the ones taking over the Konoha ANBU's job in securing Haruno Sakura's safety from then onwards. The only ANBU from Konoha that would be joining Sakura were Ino, Sai, Shikamaru and Chouji. The others would have to remain behind for their own duties.

"Lets go shall we? Everyone's waiting for ya Sakura!" Naruto said, pointing towards the group at the gate. Itachi nodded, and the four walked towards them.

* * *

"We'll miss you Sakura!" Tenten said, sniffing. The weapon mistress pulled Sakura in for a crushing hug, making Sakura turn green. Neji pried his girlfriend off her, and hugged her like an elder brother.

"Take care of yourself Sakura." He said, smirking. He handed her a long package, which everyone suspected was a katana. Sakura smiled, and nodded.

"Arigatou, Neji nii-san!"

Kakashi came up next, handing her his orange book, but before he could say anything Sasuke had taken the book and threw it back at Kakashi. Sakura giggled at her boyfriend's antic, while the others watched on as Sasuke continued to scold Kakashi. Sasuke and Sakura had been official after the last battle. While he was recuperating in the Konoha Hospital, he confessed his feelings again, and asked her to be his girlfriend. Although they knew it would be a long distance relationship, they accepted it.

"Sakura, this is for you." Naruto said, handing her a small box. "Don't worry it ain't ramen." He added, laughing.

Sakura grinned and opened it, revealing an album. She flipped through it, and blushed at some of the pictures. Everyone inched closer to see what it was, and almost burst out laughing when they saw it was pictures of Sasuke and Sakura on their dates. Naruto must have had followed them and took all those pictures. Naruto hid behind Hinata when he sensed a murdering aura from Sasuke. There were even pictures of him and Sakura kissing, and he swore to murder Naruto for it, but when he saw Sakura smiling at the memories, he decided that killing Naruto could wait.

Tsunade, Kurenai, Asuma and Ibiki gave her a new kunai set, a few scrolls and a new holster for her custom made gun. She thanked all of them for their care and they said it was not a problem at all. Finally, Itachi and Shisui stood in front of her.

"Well Sakura, we have something special for you." Shisui said, ruffling her hair.

Sakura raised and eyebrow. "Special?"

Itachi nodded. "Pictures, of course, but of someone special to you."

"Sasuke-kun?" she asked, and they nodded.

"Not only him, after all, he's not the only special person in your heart now right?"

Sakura looked around her, the people who surrounded her smiled, and some laughed. _That's right,_ she thought. _I have so many people who are special to me, but Sasuke-kun will always be the most special of them all. _

She looked back on the days where she first met everyone, Ino, Tenten, Hinata, Neji, Sasuke, Naruto, Shikamaru, Sai, Kakashi, Tsunade and the others. It all seemed so unreal, but there she was standing, getting ready to board a plane to leave Japan for at least 6 years.

"Here." Itachi said, handing her another album. "I hope you'll like it, me and Shisui sneaked around everybody for the past weeks to get all these."

Sakura laughed together with everyone else, and then Temari came over to cal Sakura.

"Sorry to break this farewell, but it's time to go, Sakura."

Sakura nodded sadly, she was not going to see everyone for a while, and she was going to miss them so much. The girls came up to her to give her one last hug before she went off, and the guys too.

"Be seeing you Sakura."

"Won't be long ya know?"

"Take care."

"If anyone gives you trouble just ring us up."

All the words they said comforted Sakura a little, and she smiled for them. "Yeah, before ya know it I'll be back right?"

Everyone nodded, and she turned to leave, but stop when she saw Sasuke standing in front of her. He smirked.

"Didn't think I was gonna let you go without anything?" he asked, and she shook her head.

"I was waiting for you to do something. I can't always be the one making the move right Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke 'hn'ed. "I'm the one always asking you out nowadays."

Sakura giggled. "Alright. You win."

He nodded. "Here." He said, holding out a small velvet box. "Keep it with you always, and its proof that you're mine."

"Yours? I'm not a property Sasuke-kun." She said, and glared mockingly at him. He just shrugged and gestured her to open it. She did, and gasp when she saw a diamond ring with a cherry blossom petal in the middle in it. She looked at him in shock, and he just smiled.

"It's for you." He said matter of factly, taking it out and slipping it onto her ring finger. She still didn't say anything, but just stared at it. Sasuke chuckled.

"What, I don't get anything?" he asked jokingly, and before he could utter another word, Sakura had tackled him into a hug, which he would have fallen down if not for his quick reflexes. She smiled through her tears that had started falling and kissed him, he responded to it and they stayed like that for a whole five minutes before someone coughed behind them.

"Sorry, but it really is time." Temari said, smiling apologetically.

Sasuke nodded and looked at Sakura, who was still smiling at him. "I love you Sasuke-kun."

He looked shocked at her confession, but he smiled. "I love you too, Sakura-chan."

Everyone 'aww'ed but quickly stopped when they sense Sasuke's death glare. Sakura gave him one last hug and a kiss before turning to go. The Konoha ANBU and shinobi watched as the pink haired girl went through the gate, looking back only to wave goodbye, and there was no more.

Naruto looked at Sasuke, who stared at the gate after his girlfriend had gone through. Ino, Sai, Shikamaru and Chouji had boarded the plane earlier, before Sakura arrived.

"Hey teme…you gonna just let her go like that? Who knows when you'll be able to see her again?" Naruto said, and everyone looked at the young Uchiha. He smirked.

"You think so?" he said, a glint in his eyes. Kakashi sighed.

"I'm going to miss my best student." He said, looking at Tsuande.

"I agree, I'm going to miss my best ANBU captain for his team."

Everyone stared at the Hokage and Kakashi, putting two and two together. Sasuke sighed and held up a ticket.

"Next flight to the States, and a faster plane to reach." He said, waving the ticket. Everyone gaped at him and started running towards him, tackling him into a hug.

"Sasuke!! We're gonna miss you!"

"Teme make sure she's fine dattebayo!!"

"If you so much of hurt her I'll hunt you down!"

"Take care of her!"

"You better not make her cry Uchiha."

"Didn't know you had it in you otouto!"

Sasuke pushed everyone off him and breathed. "Alright already I get the point!" he yelled, earning laughter from all of his friends. He nodded at Kakashi and Tsunade, who nodded back.

"I'll be seeing you guys." He said simply, and walked towards the gate.

"And I'm going to see you soon." He said loudly, as if the pink haired girl on the first flight could hear him.

And every Konoha ANBU standing at the airport watched as the young Uchiha walked towards his future in the States after applying for a transfer. He would be missed by everyone, but the one who needed him most was the girl who gave him happiness and hope when he was down in the darkness, and now it was his turn to help her in her duties, together.

* * *

**Dark:** Okay!! I know I suck at endings...T.T I think I spoiled the whole thing...

**Sasuke: **You did.

**Dark: **((gasps)) How could you!? After all I've done to get the damned fuffy stuff into it!

**Sasuke:** So you're admitting you can't write fluff?

**Dark: **... ... I hate you...

**Sasuke:** ((smirk)) thought so.

**Dark:** Fine! That's the reason there wasn't so much fluff okay! I totally sux at writing fluff, but I have no problem drawing them! I'm so sorry people!!

**Shisui:** Want me to Katon Sasuke for you?

**Dark:** ((grins)) PLEASE.

((screams and laughter could be heared...))

**Dark:** Okay then! Should I have a **sequel**? I'm not sure of the plot yet, but y'll should have figured it out that Orochimaru is not dead yeah? ((spoiler!)) I did write chapter 17 to continue, but then I thought it was draggy, so I ended it here. So watcha guys think?? pls review about it!!!!

**Sasuke:** ((waves and faints))


End file.
